


Jarida One Shots

by alexandriakeating



Category: Brave (2012), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-04 09:51:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 29,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1774828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexandriakeating/pseuds/alexandriakeating
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A compilation of oneshots requested on Tumblr and Fanfiction. These cover a wide array of ideas from first meetings to time at Hogwarts to extreme stubbornness and teasing to whatever your heart desires! Not currently taking requests</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

"You three behave!" the young woman yelled after her younger brothers as they raced out onto the white field.

She huffed and watched the breath leave her lips in a cloud of white before disappearing into the air. Rubbing her hands viciously up and down her arms, she trudged through the ankle deep snow to a metal bench nestled under an oak. She dusted off stray flakes of snow before sitting down, flinching at the cold that eagerly attack her warm flesh.

The young woman blew an errant curl from her blue eye as she traced the path of the three red heads out on the snow. Their laughter floated back to her as they prided themselves on their ability to creep up behind the other youngsters and stuff handfuls of chilling ice down the neck of their shirts. The children hollered in response: some ran to their mother's with tearstained faces, others turned and assaulted the triplets with an icy attack of their own.

She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around herself and buried the raw skin of her face into her scarf. No one was getting hurt. It was only a bit of fun. Sure her mother wouldn't approve, but her brothers were spending energy that she wouldn't have to deal with at home. Sounded good to her.

Her ears perked at the soft crunch of snow.

"Anyone sitting here?" came a vibrant tenor.

Her eyes darted over her shoulder to meet matching blue eyes buried in the pale face of a young man whose hair was a white was the snow that dusted the city. She didn't recognize him. She'd remember someone with that color of hair, wouldn't she?

She shook her head. "No, unless you consider the air."

He smirked and grasped ahold of the snow dust bench with a bare hand and vaulted over the back of it before sitting down next to her.

"Watching your brothers?" he asked, his eyes never turning to her face.

The young woman recoiled slightly at the question. "How'd you know a thing like that?" she demanded.

"There are three boys," he answered, his finger pointing out each one of them, "with hair as red—and, well, frankly, as unmanageable as yours."

Her lips pursed together tightly as she felt her anger rise at the insult, but she miraculously managed to shove it down and question tersely, "So?"

A smirk pulled at his lips as he leaned back, propping his elbows up on the back of the bench and finally looking at her. "So, unless you're a young mother a three, I'm pretty sure they're your brothers."

"What are you implying?" she bit back, her mind whirling over the possible meanings of the mother comment.

"That you have three brothers," he responded slowly.

Swallowing her brief embarrassment of the misunderstood comment, she huffed and turned away, eyeing him cautiously out the corner of her eye. She didn't like his smirk. It reminded her too much of her brothers, and—if she were to be honest—herself. It was a flashing neon sign of mischief, but his eyes caught her. They seemed gentle, a bit sad almost as he watched the children in the field play.

"You have any siblings?" she asked casually.

"Had a younger sister," he responded softly.

"Had?" she prodded, turning to face him.

She spied the pain that flickered through his crystal eyes for a fraction of second before his smirk returned and he shrugged lightly. "Long story."

"Divorce…?" she prompted.

When he didn't answer her, she steered the conversation down a side path. "What are you doing here then?"

"I just like watch the kids play," he answered simply, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He let out a laugh, and she turned to witness one of her brothers running away with a gleeful screech from a young girl doused in slush. She couldn't make out which one it was at this distance, but she had a feeling it was Hubert.

Her eyes flickered back to the young man who was watching her brother's play quite intently. "You a pervert or something?" she asked warily before mentally kicking herself. Who would answer yes to that?  
He chuckled lightly at the question, appearing to take no offence. "No. Sometimes I'll join in," he admitted, "start a snowball fight."

"Oh," she responded as she let her eyes scan him over.

How was he not cold?! All that rested on his slender frame was a blue sweater dusted with snow, khaki pants and worn tennis shoes. She arched an eyebrow and asked, "Don't you own any warmer clothes?"

His eyes turned from the kids to her. "Don't you own any conditioner?" he returned with a laugh.

"Cheeky much," she grumbled.

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Perhaps, but I'll take it as one."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. Each second just proved him insufferable.

Snow crunched under his boots as he stood up. "Love to continue the banter with you," he said with a smirk as he started walking away, "but an upcoming snowball fight has my name on it."

"And that happens to be?" she called after him.

He turned on his heel, a smile tugging at his lips. "Jack," he answered. "And what name should I write next to mine when I convince you to join me in some fun instead sitting alone?"

"Merida."

"Well, Merida," he said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets as he cocked his head in the direction of the squealing kids, "what do you say?"

She laughed and shook her head. "More of a summer person. Snow's too cold for me."

"Aw, c'mon," he pouted as he walked back for her. He reached out and wrapped a long-fingered hand around hers. Even through her gloved she could feel the chilled flesh.

"You're going to get frostbite, you know," she told him as he pulled her to her feet.

He shrugged and began to drag her to the field.

"I told you already, I don't like the snow!"

"No," he responded with a smirk, "you said it's too cold. But you see, fun can always beat out the cold."

He let go of her hand and scooped up a clump of snow. He molded it in his hands before arching it towards a kid. "Snowball fight!" he hollered as he ran into the fray, dodging snowballs with ease and tossing expertly made ones himself.

She felt a giggle pass her lips as he dashed back to her and pulled her into the war zone with him. He was right in the end. Fun definitely beat out the cold.


	2. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Anonymous on Tumblr

It had taken forever just to pick a  _day._

He had wanted it in the colder months: Why not January? Crisp air. Sparkling snow. Beginning of the New Year. Perfect for the start of a new life.

She had wanted it in the warmer months: Why not July? Warm air. Bright sunshine. Life thriving in nature. Perfect for the life wished to be live.

They had settled in the middle: October. Warm sunshine. Cool wind. Both were happy.

It had taken forever just to pick a  _way._

Her mother had wanted a traditional wedding: Celebrate your heritage. Invite the whole family. Be proud of who you are and where you came from.

She had wanted a small, outdoors wedding: Celebrating her freedom. Invite those closest to her. Be proud of who she is and where she is going.

They had settled in the middle: A small traditional wedding with an outdoors reception. Both were happy.

Fights. Bickering. Disagreement. Compromise.

The cycle kept repeating up until the young bride stood in front of the mirror and grudgingly allowed her mother to set a small tiara amongst the fiery curls pulled into a loose bun.

She focused on her blue eyes glittering back at her. The day had finally come. There had been times she had thought it would never come. There had been times she had thought it was coming too fast. There had been times she had not wanted it to come. But here she was now: about to be married to the funniest, most loving and sincere man she had ever met. His sense of adventure and good looks were certainly a bonus.

"I'd never thought I'd get to see you in this dress," her mother whispered as she loving smoothed out the wrinkles.

The pale blue wedding dress had been her mother's and with a few alterations for her figure and personal taste she now wore it.

"Gee, Mum," she huffed with a smile.

The older woman pulled her in for a tight hug. "Nervous?" she whispered.

"A bit. I don't know why though," she admitted.

"It's a big commitment. I'd be worried if you weren't," came the laughing answer as her mother pulled away. Her eyes darted to the clock and her lips pulled into a light smile.

"It's go time," she said, squeezing her daughter's shoulders before heading from the room. Pausing before the door fully closed behind her, she assured, "You look beautiful. I'll tell your father that you're ready."

She nodded as the door closed behind the woman. Her fingers snuck into her hair and pulled out one curl and let it dangle in front of her eye. She smiled. Better.

The door opened, her dad's broad frame filling the doorway.

"Lass," he exclaimed, "you look beautiful. I'm—uh—I'm proud of you. You did good," he finished awkwardly.

She chuckled and wrapped her arm around his. "Thanks, Dad," she said as he led her from the room and to the doors of the chapel.

Her three younger brothers chased each other around eagerly as her mother tried to drag them in place. Her hushed tone was fierce as she set them in a row and her eyes set in a hard glare as she gave Harris a small pillow with two rings. Once they had some semblance of order she opened the door and followed them out down the aisle.

The young bride took a deep breath as she waited with bated breath. Slowly, a familiar melody floated through the wooden doors. She pulled her shoulders back, plastering a smile across her face as the doors opened before her and her father led her through them.

As her blue eyes darted over the few but dear faces present, her smile grew sincere. Her two bridesmaids stood in front of the alter, their blonde hair in simple braids down their backs, smiles stretching across their faces as they watched her approach. Rapunzel broke her composure to send her an encouraging wave before Astrid shot her a warning glare. The small blonde mouthed, "Sorry," before turning her smiling face back to the bride. Even the groomsmen looked impressive. Flynn was a dashing as always, and—she had to admit—Hiccup pulled off a suit.

But.

They didn't compare to the last figure her eyes fell on.

Her smile widen: Jack.

An attempt had been made to style his bleach locks, but they remained unruly; several stubborn strands stuck out in rebellion against the gel that lathered his hair. His white suit and ice blue tie complemented him more than she would admit to his face.

She held back a chuckle as he stood shaken at her appearance before the widest smile spread across his face.

She crinkled her nose in response.

He responded in kind with a smirk.

All of a sudden, the pace of everything was too slow. She wanted to reach him faster. She wanted to start this new life, this new adventure.

She soon regretted that decision when in the blink an eye she was turning to face him. His hand cupped her cheek and pulled her closer, tilting her neck back. His lips hovered tantalizingly over hers.

"Merida?" he whispered, his breath ghosting over her lips.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, her body aching to feel his lips on hers.

"Are you sure?" he questioned gently.

The young bride met his blue eyes and saw the worry that was lodged in their depths. She remembered early in their relationship telling him that she'd never be a married woman: she enjoyed her freedom far too much for that. She smiled tenderly and nodded. She wanted him. She was convinced there was no one else. He respected her and that's all she really wanted.

"Now kiss me," she whispered hoarsely.

He smirked at her command and obeyed.

Her arms slid around his neck as she arched into him, pulling him closer. She felt a chuckle rumble in his chest as his hand slipped into her hair, no doubt messing up the bun her mother had slaved over, while an arm snaked around her waist and held her close.

Yes.

She had definitely made the right decision.


	3. Jack Plays with the Triplets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as her lungs continued to expand until they threatened to burst. Then, and only then, did she slowly let the air go from its membrane encased captivity as she let her forehead fall against the cool wood of the front door. Her head was throbbing from the self-righteous pigs at school, and she was dreading the whirlwind of siblings that would be behind the door.

Groaning, she stood up and pulled the lanyard from her jean pocket, the keys clacking against each other as she shifted through the pieces of shaped metal. Once she had found the one she needed, the young woman slipped it into the lock and twisted it. Turning the knob, she pushed the door open and repocketed the lanyard and keys.

"I'm home," she called out, her voice echoing around the large entrance way and bounded down into the living room and up the stairs.

"Could you check in on the triplets?" her mother's voice drifted from the side office.

She huffed, blowing a fiery curl from her eye, "Where are the little devils?"

"Merida!"

"We'll they certainly aren't angels."

She heard a sigh of frustration. "I don't have time for this," came a muttered voice before she called out, "They're in the back."

"Okay," she responded as she shuffled across the linoleum floor to the back of the house and through the kitchen.

Their maid dashed around the spacious room, rambling away as she cooked dinner. Her voice bordered on hysteric as she babbled to herself, vocally running through her list of ingredients and chores to do before she left for the evening.

"Hey, Maudie," Merida greeted as she snatched a green apple from a bowl sitting on the large family table.

"Hello," she responded distractedly, her eyes flitting up and back down before they snapped up to fix on the young woman. "You'll spoil your dinner!" she exclaimed.

The fiery haired girl only shook her head, her nose crinkling as she bit into the apple and opened the sliding glass door. She didn't have too search long before she spied the three devils—wee ones—running around in the grass, yelling, taunting and pointing sticks at the thin air in the middle of their attempted circle.

"Oi!" she called.

Three pairs of eyes darted to her, sticks faltering slightly as their cries died on their lips.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, taking another bite of her apple.

"Playin' wif Jack Frost," came Hubert's confident answer.

Merida snorted; her hand flying to her mouth as she began to cough violently on a piece of apple. Once she had successfully swallowed, she waved her hand at her brothers and said hoarsely, "Carry on with your little friend."

Smiling as they turned back to thin air, she pulled back into the house and shut the door behind her. After resisting the temptation to lock it, she made her way upstairs and into her room. Tossing her bag onto the floor, she collapsed onto her bed.

Gleeful squeals squeezed through her window and she groaned. Sitting up she turned an eye to her window as she watch three red heads race along the tall fence, their sticks waving wildly at some presence only they could see. She chuckled and fell back on her bed.

* * *

The winter spirit lowered himself to the ground, the grass frosting where he touched it, as the fiery maned young woman slipped back into the house. He planted his staff on the ground and rested his head against it, his blue eyes following the wisps of red curls until they disappeared from sight.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"Merida," was the response he got.

He chuckled as he crouched down to the triplets' level. "Alright, I have a name—a bit better. But who is she?"

"Our sister," said the quietest of the three.

"Why didn't she see you?" piped up another.

He sighed, a smirk pulling at his lips as he leaned his head against his staff. "Because only those who believe can see me."

"Like a club!"

"No girls allowed!"

"Yeah!" came the cry of agreement.

He chuckled. "Something like that—but girls can believe."

Their faces visibly drooped.

"Then why doesn't Merida?"

"Well," he explained standing up, a snowflake forming and dancing around his fingertips, "she's almost a grown-up. Grown-ups don't believe. Grown-ups don't want to have fun!" he declared as he blew the piece of carefully formed ice from his grasp onto the nose of the leader of the three boys.

The young boy shivered as he brushed it off before fixing the Guardian with a hard glare. He pointed a small finger up at the blue sweatered chest and hollered, "Get him!"

Jack laughed as he leapt from the ground, spinning in the wind until he landed on the fence. The triplets rushed at him, sticks threatening the air, and he took off down the fence, his staff trailing behind him. They let out gleeful squeals as they watched the ice trickle from the crook before chasing after him.

He chuckled as he dodged out of their way, coating sticks with a thin layer of frost if they got to close. Some earlier frost was worth the fun, right?

* * *

It had never failed during the school year, even as the months rolled by and snow began to pile on the ground. Her brothers would always be outside, laughing as they ran around with their imaginary friend. She smiled as she watched them play. If it was keeping them out of her hair, she wouldn't begrudge them the hours of fun the spent.

Once they had even coaxed her outside to join.

Sighing in resignation, she had complied and had stepped outside onto a patch of ice. She had yelped as her feet slid away from her, and she had landed with a hard 'oof' on her backside. Merida had stood up on shaky legs to the chorus of laughter.

_**He had clutched his sides as the guffaw continued to push itself from his lips. His staff had lain abandoned at his feet as he bent over, his eyes crinkled in laughter.** _

"Very funny," she had growled before a smirk had curled her lips. She had carefully stalked to her brothers before kneeling down in the chilled white powder. "I'd be careful if I was you," she had warned as she had placed her hands on the shoulders of the two nearest her.

"Why?" piped up Hubert.

" _ **Yeah, why? You think I'd let them get hurt on my watch?" he had inquired, picking up his staff and brushing the snow from it before twirling it and resting it on his shoulder.**_

"Because, he might turn on you. Perhaps he's all fun now, but you know the saying don't you?"

Faces with wide eyes had shaken their heads, and she had struggled to hold back a giggle.

" _ **There's a saying?" he had smirked. "News to me."**_

"'Jack Frost nipping at your nose,'" she had recited from one of the Christmas songs that had quickly become mainstream the past several days.

Mumbles of recognition had met her ears.

" _ **Ah, right. That old thing."**_

"Well, that's what he does to you. He nips your nose. Bites 'em clean off if you aren't careful!" she had hollered as she threw herself at Hamish and wrestled him to the ground as she growled, attempting to bite his nose off.

Her brother's had squealed before falling into fits of laughter.

_**He had joined in the sounds of laughter. Not quite true, but she had a sense of humor. He had jumped down to join her and began tickling Harris, mimicking her noises and attempts.** _

The young woman had stood up after a moment—her cheeks sore with smiling—brushing the snow that clung to her pants off, and made her way back to the house with a triumphant smirk.

_**He had stumbled back a bit as he felt the emptiness wash over him as she stepped through him. Right. For a moment, he had forgotten that small detail. He had felt a small tug on his sleeve, and he had looked down into Hamish's worried gaze. He had smiled as he ruffled his curly hair. "Not to worry," he had said. "That's what happens if someone doesn't believe."** _

_**He had long since learned to deal with that fact of his existence, but he had felt his heart drop with the fact that this fiery haired young woman couldn't see him.** _

" _ **Can't you make her?" the young boy had asked.**_

_**He had sighed as a smirk pulled at his lips, and he had sat back on his heels. "No. But," he had exclaimed, lifting a finger, "I can do this."** _

Merida had looked down as she snatched ahold of the door handle. She had hit her shoes against the side of the house in attempt to knock off the stray clumps of snow and had looked up to see a delicate frost pattern etched across the glass. A smile had pulled at her lips as she had admired its beauty before stepping inside and grabbing herself a mug of hot chocolate.

The memory still brought a smile to her face. And, she still enjoyed the delicate frost patterns that would decorate her window with a new design each morning and each afternoon. As she watched her brothers play around in the melting slush, verdant blades of grass finally beginning to peek through the white blanket, she chuckled gently to herself.

If he existed, he certainly outdid himself, but who could believe in someone like Jack Frost?

_**He smirked as he caught the silhouette of her figure in the window, watching her brothers. The boy's comment had gotten him wondering, if he could really make someone believe, someone so old. He could think of no better test subject then the fiery girl with hair to match who had the most wonderful habit of crinkling her nose and making him feel seen without it being so.** _


	4. Jarida with the Help of Hicunzel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

"C'mon, Merida! It will be fun!"

"No way. I'm not spending any more time than needed with that snowball."

Rapunzel sighed as she pushed a short brunette strand of hair behind her ear. Her phone buzzed, and she flipped it open.

' _how are things on your end?'_  she read.

' _not so well. you?'_  she texted back.

' _he's a stubborn ass. what do you think?'_

The young woman giggled slightly as she pocketed her phone.

"Why don't you two just have some alone time?" the red head asked as she collapsed onto her friend's bed next to her, snatching a pillow and clutching it to her chest.

"Because we both want to spend some time with our friends," she answered simply as she laid back.

"You're spending time with me now, aren't you?" she pointed out stubbornly.

The brunette groaned as she rubbed her forehead. "Are you really going to pass up a chance to go to the park just because you don't like Jack?" she inquired.

Her friend snorted. "Not liking is an understatement. That blasted little troublemaker can go back to the fiery pits of hell. Let's see how he likes it if he can't play in his precious snow."

Green eyes turned to her, searching her face. "Are you really going to hold that against him?"

"Oh, I don't know—yes!"

"A stray snowball—"

"'Punz, if you think that was a stray snowball, you seriously need to recheck your view of people. You're sweet and all, but not everyone's daisies and cherry blossoms."

Sighing, Rapunzel sat up and pushed her hair from her eyes. "Do you really not want to come?"

"If he's there, there's no way you can get me to go," the curly haired girl declared.

"Oh, really?" she questioned slyly, a dark eyebrow arching as a smile pulled at her lips.

"Oh, no!" Merida exclaimed, jumping up. "I'm not going. Don't you dare think—"

Rapunzel pulled out her phone and leaped from the bed. She tossed the door open and dashed from her room, her friend close on her heels.

"'Punz! Rapunzel, I swear!"

Laughing, the brunette shifted through her contacts until she found the number she was looking for and dialed it. She put the phone to her ear and ran down the stairs, the dial tone pounding in her ear.

"Hello?" came the sweet voice.

"Mrs. DunBroch!" she cried as she ran outside. "It's Rapunzel."

"Oh, hello, dear! Is something wrong?" she questioned, worry slipping into her cultured voice.

"Yes, there is!" she declared, spinning around to face the fuming red head who barreled out of her house. "Your daughter's working too hard lately—with all the archery training—wouldn't you say?"

"Well, yes, I suppose," came the confused response.

"Rapunzel, I swear, you drop that phone right now!"

"Dear, is that—?"

"As I was saying, Mrs. DunBroch," she continued with a light laugh as she danced away from her friends reach, "wouldn't it be nice for her to go out? Spend some time with friends, meet a nice boy?"

"Yes," came the tentative answer.

"Good! You're to bring her to the Theme Park at Main and 10th Saturday at eleven!"

"She doesn't want to go, does she?"

"Nope."

A light chuckle came over the phone. "I'll see what I can do."

"Use whatever means necessary!" the brunette declared as she hung up her phone just in time to be tackled to the ground.

"You just called my mum!" her friend accused her.

"Yes!"

Blue eyes glared at her before lighting up with laughter. "You're cheekier than I give you credit for!" she chuckled as she rolled off her friend.

"I know," Rapunzel declared with a smile as she sat up and straightened her hair.

* * *

Jack groaned as he spied the red head getting out of her mother's car, Rapunzel crawling out after her.

His friend laughed and nudged him playfully. "You act like she'll be the death of you."

"I wouldn't put it past her," he muttered as he ran his fingers through his bleached hair.

As the two girls approached, his eyes met harsh blue. "Hey, Frosty," came her cool greeting.

He smirked. If she was going to act like that, then so was he. "Hey, yourself. Tell me," he questioned as he rested an arm on her shoulders, "do you get stuck with cleaning the house? I mean, look at you, that hair must make a brilliant mop."

Her nose crinkled as she growled at him. She shoved his arm off and stalked towards the entrance booth, calling over her shoulder. "C'mon, 'Punz! Grab your boyfriend. You can leave the albino pest where he's at. If he's a good dog and stays put, maybe when can bring him some scraps."

Rapunzel turned an apologetic smile to him as she took off after her friend. He chuckled as he followed her and Hiccup. Perhaps, he could have some fun with this.

* * *

Her green eyes traced the towering rollercoaster before her as her friend clamped onto her arm and pulled her along eagerly.

"It'll be fun!" she cried.

"I—I don't know," the brunette stumbled out as she scraped her heels against the cement.

Jack shook his head as he sat down on a nearby bench. Rapunzel seemed petrified of every ride presented to her. He had a hard time believing that she and Hiccup had originally planned to come here for a date.

"How about we try that one first?" Hiccup asked gently, as he pointed to one of the smaller kid rides in the distance.

His girlfriend bit her lip and nodded.

The red head groaned as she let her friend go. "That's for babies!" she whined.

"Then what's stopping you from going on it?" he called out with a smirk.

Her eyes flashed to him, her lips pulled back in a sneer. "Nothing!" she snapped.

He chuckled as he stood up and walked over to her. "What are you waiting for then?"

"Oh, I don't know," she growled, crossing her arms over her chest, "you to get some manners."

"Not before you learn to manage your temper," he smirked as he tapped a finger against her forehead.

She huffed turned away. "C'mon, 'Punz. Let's—hey. 'Punz!"

The bleached haired teen looked up, his own blue eyes darting around the crowded square in search of his friend and his girlfriend. He groaned as rubbed his neck. "They left us," he muttered.

"Why the hell would they do that?"

"I don't know. She's your friend."

"Well, Hiccup's yours," she rebutted as she began to walk away.

"Hey," he called out, reaching out and snatching her wrist. "Where are you going?"

"Who are you, my mum? I was forced here, so I might as well have some fun."

"We shouldn't split up," he responded rationally.

She chortled as she shrugged herself from his grip. "The wee lamb afraid to be alone?"

"No," he defended.

She only shook her head, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Look, let me at least grab something and then we can both go," he tried.

Her blue eyes turned to him skeptically, a fiery brow arched high.

He held up two fingers. "Two minutes. If I'm not back by then you can go on without me."

She grumbled as she crossed her arms and leaned against a metal fence. "You better be fast, Frosty."

He chuckled as he turned and ran off to grab a snow cone. It was hot, and he wasn't going to stand in line without something.

Jack was fairly surprised when he returned with his cup of blue ice that she hadn't moved from her spot. He smirked as he slowed his pace and walked towards her, slipping a large spoonful of the flavored crushed ice into his mouth.

When she spied him, she cringed away when her eyes landed on what he held in his hands.

"You don't trust me with anything cold, do you?" he asked, smirking around another spoonful.

"Nope," she proclaimed resolutely as she scooted farther away. "Now, can we get in line?"

He nodded and with a flourish of a hand, gestured for her to lead the way.

She shook her head, fiery curls bouncing over her shoulders as a light smile flickered across her lips, as she turned and walked towards the line.

"So, how did she convince you to come?"

"She didn't," she responded, crossing her arms and leaning her elbows against the barrier as she hunched over it. "She convinced my mum. What about you?"

The teen shrugged as he took another bite. "He had me until he said that you were coming."

The red head stuck her tongue out at him, and he responded with flicking shaved ice at her face. She grumbled as she wiped it off. "This is why I don't trust you."

"This is why you have no fun," he rebutted with a smirk.

"I have fun!" she retorted as they shuffled forward.

"Really? Because someone can only be as snarky as you if they are repressed."

"Repressed?!" she hollered.

"Lower your voice, Red Hots," he smirked. "They're kids around."

Her lips clamped shut as she spun on her heel, turning her back to him.

He had to admit. He was impressed. She didn't say a word until they reached the front of the line and the worker insisted on placing them in the same cart together.

"Can't you get someone else?" she asked desperately.

"Sorry, Miss," the man answered in exasperation as he cheek the bar. "I ain't got time for that."

The car jerked backwards before it moved forward and began its long ascent.

Jack chuckled as he lifted his arms and entwined his fingers behind his head.

"Don't you dare try anything," Merida snapped.

"I'm just getting comfortable," he responded.

Her eyes hardened before she looked away and lifted her arms above her head, her fingers splayed against the air.

His lips pursed as he mimicked her actions. Two can play at that game.

Their eyes met briefly with a glint of challenge as they fell down the other side of the track, air racing past them, smiles and laughter escaping from previously firm lips.

* * *

The bleached hair teen chuckled as he draped his arm over her shoulders as they stepped from the attraction and back into the main square. "You've got some spunk," he admitted.

She giggled as she leaned into his embrace. She'd push his arm away…soon. But for now, she was enjoying it. "You're not so bad yourself."

He looked down at her, a smirk pulling at his lips.

She responded by crinkling her nose at him and was taken aback when he ducked his head and pressed his lips to the top of her nose. Lids blinked rapidly over her blue eyes as he pulled back.

"Couldn't resist the temptation," he stated with a shrug.

"Then you are horrible at giving in to it," she announced with a sly grin.

He managed to raise an eyebrow in confusion before she pushed herself onto her toes and brushed her lips against his.

As she began to pull back, a slender arm snagged her fiercely around the waist and yanked her closer. A long fingered hand knotted itself in her unruly hair and arched her neck back as cool lips continued to devour hers. She stood stunned for a moment before throwing herself into the kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his.

Once they finally pulled back, their lips brushing lightly against the other's as they struggled to refill their lungs, he whispered hoarsely, "Yeah, definitely some spunk."

"You're not so bad yourself," she answered likewise as she mimicked his signature smirk.

"I told you it would work, Hiccup."

The two figures jerked apart, two pairs of blue eyes looking over to see two brunets smiling at them.

 


	5. After a Quidditch Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

The red head let out a great whoop of joy as the game ended. She spun around with a laugh, her untamable curls flying into her face. She stopped to face the frowning teen next to her. Crinkling her nose at him, she smiled.

He glared as he reached out a long fingered hand and shoved her face away.

She jumped onto his back in response. Latching her arms tightly around his neck, she put her lips to his ear and yelled, "We won! Now pay up, Frosty!"

A groan slipped from the white haired teen's lips as he winced at her raised voice. His blue eyes darted downwards as his hand slithered into his pants pocket. She slipped from his back and held out a hand as he pulled out five gleaming Galleons. "You got lucky, princess," he said.

She huffed. "Hand 'em over."

A devilish grin split her lips as the coins clanked into her outstretch palm. Her fingers curled greedily around them, and she brought her hand up to her lips for kiss before pocketing the money.

"You two bet five galleons on a quidditch match?" came the incredulous question.

Two pairs of blue eyes darted over to the slender blonde who was watching them with wide eyes.

"Yeah," the young man responded, as he turned and leaned against the banister.

"Five galleons?" she repeated.

"It's no fun if the prize has no worth," the red head defended.

"Merida," the young woman reprimanded, "not everyone has the sort of money your family does. And Jack, how could you bet so much?"

He shrugged. "I was planning on winning."

"Oi, let this be a lesson to you," the red head proclaimed, flicking his forehead. "Never doubt Gryffindor."

"It was a lucky win. You can't argue that they haven't been playing as well since McGrooder left."

"North is a good Keeper."

"Not as good as McGrooder."

"Perhaps," she admitted reluctantly.

"And Aster is a horrible Beater," he continued with a smirk.

"Oi, I got it already. But that doesn't change the fact that we beat you."

"Lucky win."

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah."

"How much this time?" she questioned with a smirk of her own as their faces drew closer together. "Name your price."

"Would you two kiss already," a new voice interjected.

The two teens spluttered away from each other to look at the gangly brunet who was pushing his way through the crowd towards them.

"What makes you think I'd want to do that?" Jack inquired.

Merida threw blazing eyes up at him. "You say that like it would be a bad experience to kiss me," she accused.

The brunet sighed as he glanced at the slender blonde. "As much as I love a good show, I've got a potion's test to study for. You coming?"

Her green eyes darted briefly to the fuming couple before she nodded with a small smile and followed him back to the school.

"Well, it wouldn't be a pleasant one," the teen countered, oblivious to his friends' exit.

"Oi! And how would you know?" she barked, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's not liked you've ever done it."

"A smart man learns from another's mistakes," he smirked.

"A wise man doesn't let another's ideas dictate his life," she countered.

"Fine," he growled. "You want me to make my own decision?"

"Yes," came her challenging response.

Without a second thought the white haired teen's fingers wrapped around her forearms and yanked her to him, his lips quickly finding hers and devouring them.

Her knees buckled as her fingers curled around his shirt, pulling herself closer and arching into his body.

When they drew apart after a moment, warm breath and muggy air between them, Jack smirked as he twirled a finger around one of her fiery curls. "Yeah. Not too pleasant."

She snorted.

"But," he drawled, as his hands slid down her arms and proceeded to ensnare her waist, "I'd hate to make a hasty decision."

"Isn't the definition of a fool someone who does the same thing over and over while expecting different results?" she asked, arching an eyebrow as she buried herself deeper into his firm chest.

"I'm thinking of a scientific experiment. The more results, the better."

"Well, I'd hate to ruin your experiment."

Another smirk pulled at his lips as he lowered them back hers. Her hands grazing upwards over his chest and shoulders until her fingers knitted behind his neck, pulling him closer.

 


	6. School Project: Parenting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: kiome-yasha on Tumblr

A groan so in unison it would seem as though the class spent their spare time practicing the timing filled the classroom as the teacher pulled out a top hat.

"Oh, it's not that bad," she reprimanded gently as her fingers snuck into the hat to mix around the slips of paper that inhabited it.

"You know the rules but now, I hope. Take one and pass it down the row," she instructed briefly as she handed the black hat to a student in the front.

He rolled his eyes as he dipped his hand into it and pulled out a thin slip of paper. As he passed the hat to the student behind him he unfolded the paper and read the number quickly before folding it back up and tossing it onto his desk.

The hat slowly made its way around the students. Some of them carelessly reached in and picked a number without a second thought as they passed the hat on. Others shifted through the slips, their eyes darting up to the teacher, searching for just the right number as they questioned about who already had what.

Eventually, it made its way to the desk of a foreign exchange student with a temper as fiery as her hair. She dug around the handful of pieces left before clutching onto one. She passed the hat on and unfolded the slip of paper.

8

Okay.

Her bright blue eyes darted to the slips of paper lying carelessly on the nearby desks in hopes of spying an identical number.

12

3

9

Nope.

"Who's got eight?" questioned a voice she dreaded to hear.

A groan spilled from her lips as she slouched back into her chair. "God," she hissed, her voice thick with her Scottish lilt. "Don't tell me I'm with Frost."

"I'm with the princess?" came his incredulous question.

"Not happening," she barked at the teacher who had taken notice of the situation.

"When hell freezes over," he emphasized.

"Which will be as soon as you get there," she snapped as twisted around in her seat to send blazing eyes to meet matching blue.

He smirked. "And I assume that heaven will be ablaze when you set foot there then?"

She huffed and opened her mouth to respond when the teacher bustled over. Worry creased her brow as she recited, "Rules are the rules. I am sorry though," she amended to not only them but the class as well.

"You can't seriously expect me to be married to her for a week," he exclaimed, his fingers ruffling his bleached locks.

"Take a look at yourself," the red head bit out. "You aren't the most ideal partner."

"Touché," he grumbled.

"It's only a week," the teacher tried to mediate. "Maybe you could come to a joint custody arrangement? Maybe you could be the example of what a rocky marriage does for a young child?"

"Great. I'm a social experiment," the teen muttered as he crossed his arms and slumped into his seat.

"Can't be a new experience for you," she stated with a chuckle.

A scowl pulled at his lips as he looked at the exchange student. "Ha ha. I'll be the one laughing soon princess," he vowed

She opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the teacher. "Okay, you two," she chirped, attempting to lighten the tense mood in the classroom. "How about you continue this after class? I wish to proceed with my lesson."

The two students nodded and reluctantly turned away from each other, but not before one final glare was shared between them.

The teacher gave a weak smile as she continued with her rehearsed lesson. "If you would please find your fellow parent and sit by each other. I will pass out the babies in a moment."

Shuffling and shouts filled the room as most students immediately latched to the person they knew who was their partner. Others stuck by their predetermined partner as they order the assigned one to take a new number. The red head and bleached hair young man sat firmly in their seats.

After a moment, he grumbled as he stood and shuffled over to her seat. He plopped onto her desktop, scattering her pencils and crinkling her notebook paper.

"What the hell?"

"Obeying orders," he smirked.

"She said to sit near each other not on," she growled.

His smirk deepened as he leaned over and whispered, "If I was on you, you'd know, princess."

She spluttered as she arched away from him, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as her face slowly crept to the shade of her hair.

When the plastic baby was finally received into her arms, a light smile flittered across her face as she rocked it gently. "Look at the wee thing. We're naming him Craig," she stated, her eyes still fixed on the peaceful toy face.

"Craig?"

Burning eyes turned up to him. "It's a good, strong, Scottish name."

"He's American, not Scottish."

"Fine," she spat. "Pick one of your dull names. How 'bout Jack?"

He groaned as he pushed his fingers through his hair. "This will be the longest week of my life."

"Selfish much?" she questioned as the bell rang. She stood up and quickly slipped her bag onto one shoulder, easily juggling the baby.

He glared until his eyes widened in surprise as the child was dumped into his arms. A smirk pulled at her lips as she leaned forward and pecked his cheek. "Take care of the baby?" she asked as she turned and jogged from the room.

"What the hell?!" he shouted after her.

She skidded to a stop. Her fingers gripped ahold of the door frame as she leaned back into the room. A sly smile pulled at her lips. "Might as well play the part. If I'm stuck with you, I'm going to have fun. I trust you understand that idea?"

He blinked as she left his sight. His blue eyes turned back to the whimpering infant in his arms. The teen shushed it as he bounced it gently until it quieted down. Trying to ignore the burning that had taken over the skin her lips had touched, he stood up and picked up his bag.

It was going to be a long week.

 


	7. Warm Bodies AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request by: Anonymous on Tumblr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually not seen Warm Bodies, but I know the basic plot line. So, I took the basic idea of it and twisted it into a situation that would fit the characters. No zombies, I'm sorry. Instead, Earth is being overrun by a group of beings known as the Ice Men—who are still essentially walking corpses.

The still, hushed air muffled her ears, pierced only by the sharp crunch of the snow under her boots. Her breathing was short and hard from exertion and formed small clouds in the chilled air around her. Her stiff fingers fumbled with her scarf as she pulled it over her mouth and nose before pulling her hat further down over her brow. She stuffed her thinly gloved hands under her arms in hopes of keeping them warm as she continued her trek.

Her mother didn't like the idea of her coming out, especially during this time of year. She said the risk of running into  _them_  was too high, but her family needed supplies. Things were running out fast. Her brothers were too young to understand rations, so she and her parents had to cut down to keep them fed. But, they couldn't hold out forever. Hell, they couldn't hold out until her father was able to get back onto his feet—well, foot. He had been the last one to leave the high walls of safety for supplies, and when he came back his leg had been frozen over by one of  _them_. He had been lucky to escape with only that.

As she pushed a snow covered branch out of the way, she reflected on how he was still recovering from the loss of his leg. Some of the ice had entered his blood stream and was taking longer than normal to thaw. He couldn't walk. He couldn't move without the agony of icy needles piercing him. Morale was low. She had to do something. And so, that morning, before her mother could waken and ban her from following through with her plan, she had grabbed a small back of basic necessities and her bow and had left the compound in hopes of finding food.

A cool wind nipped across her body, digging claws through her clothing and grazing her skin. Flurries of ice bit at her eyes, blurring her vision as she stumbled towards a tree and huddled against it. Her arms gripped the trunk tightly just as the wind grew in strength and whipped around her body, tearing at every inch of her.

Lids squeezed shut tightly over blue eyes as the unseen skin of her arms and knuckles turned white. Cold pierced her skin from every angle as she tried desperately to keep warm images flashing through her mind.

Summer.

Sun.

The burn of the unmerciful rays.

Yellow.

Orange.

Warmth.

Family.

After an eternity, the wind reluctantly spluttered to a stop and she dared to squint her eyes open. The blue irises took in the mountain of white that encased the lower half of her body. Grunting, she tentatively let go of the tree trunk and reached for the quiver slung over her shoulders. She grasped an arrow and pulled it from its holder. Gripping it as firmly as her chilled joints would allow, she rammed the sharp point into the mound of snow and ice until enough pieces had chinked away to let her step from the imprisonment.

Her eyes fell on the dulled and chipped arrowhead. Huffing, she chucked it into the woods. It would be of no use to her now. Sure, she could still shoot it, but it wouldn't bring a quick death, and she didn't have the heart to make anything suffer more than needed.

As she stepped away from the tree, she pulled off the hat covering her head and let her fiery curls tumble freely down her back. Shaking them, she ran a hair through the unmanageable strands with a sigh. Her eyes darted to the small splice of sky she could see through the thick net of intertwined branches overhead. She still had the better part of the day left. If she didn't find something in the next few hours, she would head back. She might be desperate, but she wasn't stupid. No way would she stay out here longer than necessary. Especially with the winter gale that had just passed through. She had no plans of crossing paths with one of  _them._

The young woman clench the wooly fabric of her hat between her teeth as her hands tangled themselves in her brightly colored mane and fought viscously to pile the unruly curls on top of her head. She couldn't risk having them down much longer.

Once she had finally managed to get them to stay in place with only one hand and grabbed her hat from her mouth, a soft thump sounded behind her. Her heart froze as she hurriedly stuffed the fiery strands of hair into her hat and snatched her bow from her back. She grabbed an arrow and quickly nocked it, her breath muted as she pointed its sharpened tip towards the noise.

A sharp snap pierced the silence behind her. She spun widely, taking aim at the source of the new sound.

A crisp crack shattered the air to her right. She twirled, adjusting her aim.

Silently she cursed. This wasn't an animal. At best, it was a pack of something. At worst, it was one of  _them._  She bit her lip as she pleaded it to be anything else. She'd settled for a pack of wolves, a mother bear and her cubs. Anything but…

She turned viciously at the new noise, the wind yanking her hat from its precarious position and allowing her vibrantly colored locks to flow down her back. "Who—who's there?" she called out. "Show yourself, you coward!"

A quiet chuckle filled the air above her, and her eyes darted towards the dark branches high above her head. "Call me a fool," a light tenor teased from the shadows, "but I find it idiotic to be so loud."

"Especially with such dangerous creatures in these woods," the voice continued.

She jumped as the voice came from a different location. She held onto the slim hope that this was a fellow hunter, another human searching for food, but she knew it couldn't be. No human could move like that.

"Show yourself," she repeated, her voice stronger than how she felt, but she'd be damned to let it know she was scared.

A gentle crunch of ice was all that alerted her to the presence.

She slowly turned. Her blue eyes growing wider as crystal ones narrowed at the sight of her. Snow white hair dusted a forehead and thin, tattered clothes fell from a tall, slender frame. Long fingered hands grasped loosely onto a hooked staff encrusted with icy patterns.

It looked human.

It looked just like a young man, no older than her.

She briefly reprimanded herself. Of course, it did. He— _it_ —was an Ice Man: a human whose heart had been frozen over. Ice ran through their veins. Their skin was as cold as a corpse. Because that's what they were: corpses. Hallow shells of the humans they used to be.

No one was sure what started it.

No one was sure how to stop it.

All anyone knew was that they craved human flesh. There were several stories that circled around why. No one could decide on just one reason though.

Still, others even claimed that they preferred brains—craving the memories of living that they had damned themselves from.

The young woman didn't know which one she believed. All she knew was that if she didn't find a way to get out of there, she would end up an empty corpse, frosted over and buried in the snow. Her family may never find her, stuck without closure as they fretted over her final moments.

"Scared, princess?" he chuckled hollowly.

"No."

A smirk pulled at his lips as he walked closer, his bare feet ghosting over the snow. "I believe you are."

"You'd be wrong," she declared.

"Such spark. Such fire," he mumbled quietly.

As he grew closer, long fingers untwined themselves from his staff and reached towards her. She flinched away was his chilled skin came in contact with her hair. He slowly wrapped a fiery curl around a finger as he stared at the brightly colored hair in silence. A forlorn smile curled his lips as his fingers released the curl and traced their way to her flesh.

The young woman cringed as the icy skin of his fingertips grazed against her cheek and jaw, chafing the tender flesh. Her blue eyes darted to the hollow crystal and widen when she saw a small crack in the fragile coloring. It was barely perceptible, but she couldn't deny the loneliness that drizzled from a hidden depth.

"So warm," he breathed out in a hushed whispered, his voice so quiet that she couldn't be sure that she had heard him correctly.

"Merida," she bit out. As soon as her name left her lips, she pinched her eyes shut and resisted the urge to groan. Sometimes she was just a bit too impulsive.

"What?" he stuttered as he pulled back, the searing cold finally leaving her flesh.

"My name," she explained as she looked at him. She might as well go through with this now.

Confusion puckered his brows before he said slowly, "Jack."

"Is that your name?" she asked.

He took a moment to think before he nodded once. "I think so."

"You think?"

"I haven't had a need for a name in three hundred years."

"Three—three  _hundred_  years?" she spluttered.

A smirk curled his lips. "Look good don't I?"

"Um—uh, yeah."

His eyes drooped as he stared at her.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

He raised a finger and brushed it against his cheek.

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was alluding to. Her bow and arrow fell to the snow, a small plume white dust puffing into the air around them. Her hands shot to her cheek, and she cupped the stiff, chapped flesh. She winced when her gloved fingers brushed the abused skin. Fighting back the stinging in her eyes, she pulled off a glove and lightly touched the undoubtedly red skin. She hissed at the painful contact and shoved her rabidly freezing hand back into her glove.

Blazing blue eyes turned to the Ice Man in front of her. "What did you do that for?" she snapped.

"I—I didn't mean—"

"Perhaps you should watch where you stick those grabby hands of yours."

"Perhaps you should watch were you wander off to. Don't want such a precious princess to get lost, now do we?" he countered, his eyes flashing before he clamped shut again.

"Are all of you so charming?"

"No…ah…I—I don't know what…what that was."

She reigned back her temper long enough to see the sincerity in his eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.

His hand clenched the thin material over his heart before massaging his chest. "Yeah," he mumbled. His eyes flickered to hers and she could see the hollow crystal form once again. His brows narrowed as he gazed at her. His hand dropped from his chest to grip his staff. He aimed the hook at her. A feral growl escaped his lips and a bolt of blue shot passed her head.

"What the hell was that for, Frosty?" she demanded as she reacted on instinct and swung at him.

Long fingers wrapped around her wrist.

A yelp of pain passed her lips as his frozen skin brushed against the slip of flesh that was exposed as the sleeve of her jacket rolled up slightly.

At the sound, a crack split the crystal once more. He blinked rapidly as he let go of her, throwing her arm away from him. He scrambled backwards. "I'm—I'm sorry," he panted.

She cradled her ice burnt wrist, turning sharp eyes to him. "I don't think this is common for Ice Men," she observed.

"I—I don't know. I've…I've never…"

"What? Tried to frost someone?"

"Not tried," he responded simply.

She gulped and took a step closer. "How come?" she inquired gently. "Why? Why not me?"

He shrugged. "I like your spark, I guess," he answered with a smirk.

Wait.  _He?_  As her eyes took another moment to look him over, she bit her lip. Her mother was going to kill her if she found out what she was planning. Forget going out to hunt alone: what she was contemplating doing was insane. Who had ever head of befriending an Ice Man?

But, she had to admit that he was pretty cute.


	8. Hogwarts AU (First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

The young girl squeezed her way through the bodies, ducking under arms, pushing between conversing friends. Her fiery hair streamed behind her as her eyes peered through each window in search of an empty seat. They were finally greeted by a compartment inhabited only by a young brunet whose spindly legs dangled from the seat. His green eyes peered out of a freckled face as he scanned the pages of a large book in his lap.

A smile pulled at her lips as she elbowed a few third years and pushed her way through to the door. She slid it open and slipped inside. "Hello!" she greeted, her voice thick with her natural Scottish lilt.

Dazed eyes blinked lazily as they looked up at her until the lids moved faster. "Oh, um, hi," he stammered out as he made to stand up. However, the book crashed to the floor as he tripped over his feet.

Her nose crinkled as he quickly straightened and held out a hand too large for his gangly body. "Hiccup," he introduced. "Hoping to be in Ravenclaw."

The red head snorted as she snatched his hand. "Hiccup?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I know. It's to scare away gnomes and trolls," he admitted sarcastically.

"I don't think your name's going to scare 'em away. 'Specially not if you look like that."

"Thanks," he mumbled as he pulled his hand back and bent over to pick up is fallen book.

"I'm Merida, by the way," she stated as she hoped onto a seat by the window and swung her legs up on the seats next to her. "Gryffindor."

"Oh. You're a second year?"

"No."

"Then—"

"I've got no doubt I'll be in Gryffindor."

"Ah," he muttered as he sat back down and opened his book, his fingers stroking the crumpled pages until they flattened.

Blue eyes glanced up as the door slid open and a small blonde girl stumbled in. Her green eyes widened as she looked around the compartment. She shut the door behind her and smiled hesitantly as she pushed a long strand of hair behind her ear before giving the two occupants a small wave.

"Hello," she greeted in a soft voice. "Are you first years, too?"

"Yeah," Merida piped up before the brunet could get a word in. "Merida, and this toothpick is Hiccup," she introduced, earning herself a glare from the young boy.

"I'm Rapunzel," she said as she sat down gently next to Hiccup.

"Nice to meet you," he said as he offered her a hand which she gladly accepted. "What house are you hoping to get in?"

She shrugged her slender shoulders as she relaxed into her seat. "I don't really have a preference. I'm just happy to get in. It's been my dream to go here. I'm happy with that. You?"

"Ravenclaw," he promptly answered before the red head announced, "Gryffindor."

She smiled and opened her mouth to respond when a young teen blasted through the door and slammed it shut behind him. His ice blue eyes drifted over the occupants as a smirk ghosted across his lips. "You haven't seen me," he stated as he jumped onto the seat Merida was stretched across, earning himself a yelp of protest from her. His fingers wrapped around the luggage rack overhead, and he quickly pulled himself up, melding into the slight shadows.

The pairs of young eyes stared up at him before turning down to look at each other, confusion painted in each. Before anyone could say something, the door slid open with a crash that threatened to shatter the glass window.

A black haired teen poked his head in, his verdant gaze surveying the compartment. "Have you seen a kid, about yea high?" he asked as he held his hand out to the height of his shoulders. "White hair. Smart ass. Hard to miss."

Three eyes met before a chorus of "no" was heard.

The teen sighed, his head and shoulders drooping as he muttered a string of curses. "Well, if you see him, let me know. Name's Aster," he stated as he turned and left.

Once the door slid shut behind him and he had stalked off to the next compartment, the young teen jumped down from the rack, his fingers tussling his unnaturally colored locks. "Thanks for that."

His bright eyes studied the occupants once more, and a smirk broke out across his face. "First years, huh?"

Three heads nodded mutely.

He chuckled as he plopped down between Rapunzel and Hiccup, draping an arm around their shoulders. "Jack Frost. Third year. Slytherin."

"Slytherin?" the boy questioned.

"Yes," he defended. "Cunning. We have just as much wits about us as you Ravenclaws do."

"Ravenclaw?"

"Are you a parrot?" Jack joked. "Yes. You have Ravenclaw written all over—well," he explained as he pulled his arm from the blonde to gesture up and down the brunet.

"You just gestured to all of me."

"Exactly," he said as he returned his arm around the blonde and allowed his blue eyes to scan her. "You seem to be good Hufflepuff material."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he assured as he moved his gaze to the relaxing red head.

"You," he drawled out with a smirk, "you could be Slytherin."

She spluttered as she jumped to her feet, her fist clenched firmly at her sides. "Gryffindor."

"Well," he said, removing his arms from the two first years and standing to look down at her, "you might think that, but you never know."

He stepped closer and leaned over her shorter frame until his nose almost brushed hers. "I can see that mischievous glint in your eye. Your spitfire will be quite welcomed. Might want to tone down the temper a bit though. But, you'd fit right in."

"Like hell I would, Frosty!" she shouted as she shoved her hands into his chest.

He chuckled as he rubbed the spots she had touched. A smirk pulled at his lips as he said slowly, "Frost. Not Frosty. But I shouldn't be surprised. It must be hard to hear anything through that red mop you call hair."

She growled, but her scathing retort was cut short as the door clattered open again. "Frost," a voice grumbled.

Blue eyes glanced lazily over his shoulder as he let a sigh pass his lips. "You're timing, my friend, is impeccable. But," he taunted as his fingers slipped into his pocket, "you aren't catching me. At least not today."

Muffled hollers filled the compartment as a dense blackness enveloped the small area.

The red head froze as lips ghosted over her ear and cool breath poured over her skin. "It'll be a pleasure to show you around the dorms," Jack whispered before cool lips pressed gently to her cheek.

Her hand flew around her body in hopes of making contact with his no doubt smirking face, but it only met air.

Within a few moments the darkness lifted and the compartment was filled with two stunned first years, one furious first and a tried fourth. As each of the four retreated back to their own purposes, Merida put on a calm face but couldn't ignore the hammering against her ribcage and the warmth that had overtaken the tips of her ears.


	9. Hunt for the Wisps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

"They're real," she insisted as she pushed a branch out of her way and let it snap back at the spirit who floated behind her.

"Sure they are, princess," he humored her as he ducked out of the way.

She huffed as she continued pushing her way through the forest until she stepped out into a break in the trees.

"Well," he announced, landing next to her as he rested his staff on his shoulder, "still don't see any blue balls."

"Wisps, Jack. They're called wisps."

"Whatever," he sighed. "We've been out here since sunrise and we haven't found them."

"You've got to be patient," she growled.

"Calling the kettle black, aren't we?" he smirked.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

He sighed. "It's an expression, princess."

The young woman ran her fingers through fiery curls, her lips parting in thought as her eyes scanned the tree line. She jumped when a cool hand wrapped around her shoulder.

"C'mon," he urged.

"No!" she snapped, shrugging his hand off. "We're going to find them. And you're," she exclaimed poking him in the chest, "going to admit they're real."

He raised his fingers to his snow white locks and slipped them through his hair until he massaged the base of his neck. "Merida, you said that they lead you to your fate, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, maybe they aren't showing because neither of us needs that."

She bit her lip as she digested his words. Her blue eyes darted around the surrounding woods once more. "Just a little longer…" she pleaded.

His shoulders slumped as a groan fell from his lips. "Fine."

A bright smile pulled at her lips. "Thank you, Jack."

"Why don't we split up?" he suggested with a smirk as he lifted himself into the air.

She nodded. Then, after adjusting the position of her quiver, took off into the forest. Once her fiery locks had disappeared from view, the Guardian of Fun leaned back into the air and tucked his arms under his head. He wasn't going on some wild goose chase.

He shut his eyes and relaxed into the deep quiet that permeated the thick woods. As his mind began to drift a dull hum caught his ear. A slight frown pulled at his lips as he shifted his position to cover his ears, but the beckoning hum insisted. He muttered furiously as he leapt to his feet, his eyes icy gaze blazing and his staff threatening.

In the air in front of him hovering over the ground was a small amorphous bulb glowing and pulsating with the purest blue light he had ever seen. His limbs fell slack and his grip on his staff loosened, the hook dropping to the ground and frosting the thriving grass beneath it. Airy tendrils reached out towards him and gestured for him to follow, the hum urging him on.

He took a tentative step forward and another one before he shook himself from its allure. Tightening his grip on his staff, the spirit brandished it towards the floating blue.

The humming stopped.

With the softest of pops, it folded in on itself and vanished.

After a moment, Jack allowed his shoulders to relax only to spring alert once again when another bulb appeared a few feet away from where the last one had been.

"Alright, alright," he tried to reason with the air as he remembered Merida's stories. "I'm supposed to follow you, right?"

The wisp vanished before materializing further away.

Taking a hint, the Guardian's grip on his staff tightened in preparation as he jogged forward towards the glowing light. Once he had gotten an arm's length away, it disappeared again. This time, it showed up with a hoard of its brethren; an eerie blue trail lighting a slender path through the tall trees. The white haired spirit hopped onto the wind and followed it.

He had no idea how long he had been following the wisps when the trail ended, and he found it hard to stop his forward momentum and crashed through a bush. He collided into a soft body which yelped in surprise. On instinct he wrapped his arms around the narrow waist as arms returned the embrace, and they went tumbling.

When the two figures had finally rolled to a stop, Jack jumped to his knees and elbows, pushing himself from the body he had squeezed beneath him and the ground. His blue gaze darted down to see a mess of fiery curls splayed out on the ground, tangled with twigs and blades of grass. He met familiar blue and froze as his heart began to hammer.

"Jack?" came the confused question.

"Hey, princess," he attempted to smirk as he crawled off her.

"Oi," she exclaimed, flicking him in the arm. "I knew you could be clumsy but I thought you knew about personal space."

"Yeah…sorry," he mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. Were those things serious? Of course they had to be, but…

"What happened to you?" she asked, sitting up and pushing stray curls from her eyes.

"Wisps," he whispered after a moment's pause.

"You saw them?" she pestered him excitedly.

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"They—uh—well, they—"

"Spit it out, Jack!"

"They led me here," he bit out.

His remark was met by silence as he looked over to see her staring at him in confusion. He watched as understanding slowly lit up her eyes. Her nose crinkled as she crossed her arms, "You'd think they'd have better taste," she grumbled.

"You're not my first pick either, princess," he countered.

She hmphed as she stood up and brushed her dress of in quick, jerky movements. "I'm heading back."

"You're what?" he asked, his heart sinking.

"Heading back," she said slowly.

"Wait!" he shouted, jumping up and letting the wind push him to her retreating form. "What about the wisps?"

"You've seem 'em. You know they're real."

"But—"

"Shut it, Jack!" she yelled, spinning on her heel to face him. Her fists balled and shoke furiously at her sides.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She faltered slightly. "No. Yes…I'm going, Jack."

"Merida," he pleaded, reaching out and catching her arm.

"Nothing can happen, Jack," she explained softly. "Nothing."

His throat clenched as he let her words seep in. Taking a deep breath, he pulled a smirk across his lips and pulled her into his chest. "The wisps seem to think something can."

"Jack…"

"Trust the wisps," he whispered. "Like last time."

She nodded softly, her eyes refusing to meet his.

Her cradled her chin in his long fingers and lifted her face to his. He pressed his ice chapped lips to her warm, yielding ones.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers entangled in his hair as she arched into this touch.

Would things be easy? No.

But the wisps led him here, and who would he be to mess with fate?


	10. Jack 'Helps' Merida Bathe Angus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

Tossing her fiery curls over her shoulder, the young woman set the water bucket onto the ground with a thump, the water sloshing over the rim. She puffed out her cheeks as she stood up and rolled her sleeves to her elbow. After a quick moment of debate and shifting eyes, she bent over and grabbed the hem of her dark green dress. She pulled it up and tucked it into her belt. Nodding at the freer movement that pleased her and the fact that her hem wasn't dragging through the muck which would please her mother, she turned to Angus.

"Hi, boy," she said in a hushed tone as she reached out and stroked his soft cheek.

He gave a soft whiny as he nudged his nose into her shoulder.

"Angus," she chuckled.

His nostrils flared as he nudged her hips, prying around her.

"I've got nothing, you greedy beast," she reprimanded lightly as she stepped away.

Picking up an old cloth that hung of the side of the stall, she squatted and shoved her hand into the bucket—fully expecting water to encase her hand, not ice chafing her knuckles. She growled in pain as her blue eyes flashed to the hardened water. "Jack," she growled as she stood up.

She heard his chuckling before she saw him. He landed on the side of the stall across from her. A smirk pulled at his lips as he sat down on the wood wall. His staff planted in the hay as his fingers and toes curled around it.

"Unfreeze it," she ordered.

"Bossy much, princess?" he teased as he rested his forehead against his staff.

"Jack," she warned, her hands resting on her hips as she shifted her weight to one leg.

"I can't," he said simply. "I can only freeze."

"Well, then!" she exclaimed, tossing the cloth at him which fell pathetically a few feet in front of him.

He chuckled as her anger grew.

"I wouldn't be laughing, Frosty. Someone needs to get more water, and it's not gonna be me."

"Yeah, well, I can't do it," he smirked.

"Why?"

"What do you think it'll look like to everyone if they see a bucket floating around and filling itself up?"

"Oh," she mumbled, her frame slumping.

"Yeah."

She snapped back up, a stray curl falling into her eye. "But—" she began before she was cut off.

The spirit of winter leapt across the stall, aided by the wind, and landed softly in front of her. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her to him, lifting her feet from the ground as he pressed his lips to hers. After a moment he set her back down with a smirk. "You talk too much, princess."

"You can't take anything seriously."

He shrugged. "Enjoy the fun. How long has it been?"

"I have fun," she protested. "I just know how to be serious when I need to be."

"Not always," he argued.

"Well, no," she admitted slowly.

He chuckled as he spun her around. "And that's why I like you."

She laughed as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him softly. "I wonder what this looks like to others?" she mused.

Her question was answered by a throat clearing.

Two pairs of blue eyes darted towards the Queen whose brows were raised quizzically at her daughter. "I was going to ask if you wished to go for a ride," she said, "but I will leave you to your—um—well, your…" she faltered as she finished with a regal wave of a hand to make up for her lack of words.

"Oh, ah," her daughter mumbled as she quickly withdrew her arms from the invisible teen. "Mum!" she greeted, clamping her hands together. "I was—uh… I was just…"

"Brilliant cover up," he said as he ran his fingers through his snow white locks.

"Can you do any better?" she hissed out the corner of her mouth.

He opened his mouth to respond before his retort withered on his tongue, and he slouched away.

"Merida, I don't want to know. I won't ask," the older woman stated simply before turning on her heel and walked back to the castle muttering to herself about what could possibly be going through her daughters head.

"Great," the red head exclaimed as she turned to the Guardian of Fun, "now my Mum thinks I've lost it."

"You never had it," he countered.

She huffed. "Don't think you've gotten out of helping me bathe Angus."

"As you wish, princess," he smirked as he pecked her cheek.


	11. Forbidden Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumlbr

The young princess pushed a clump of fiery curls from her eyes as she stepped from her room, shutting her door behind her. With a quick skip she headed down the corridor.

"And where are you going, young lady?" came her mother's cultured voice, reverberating off the stone walls.

She groaned as she turned to look at her quickly approaching figure. "Mum, I'm just going for a ride. Can't I have that?"

"Dear," her mother sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder, "you know how important today is. I know that…you…" he voice faltered as she met her daughter's pleading eyes. A reluctant smile curled at her lips as she lightly shoved her daughter away. "Go on."

A wide smiled curled her lips as she threw her arms around her mother's neck. "Thank you," she squealed before running down the corridor.

"Remember the clans will be here by midday for negotiations!" the queen shouted after.

"Alright, Mum," she called back over her shoulder as she raced down the stairs and out of the castle. Her feet slapped against the cobblestone, her heart pounding in her chest, as she ran to the stables. Laughter bubbled up and passed her lips as she skidded to a stop. Blowing a stray curl from her eye, she walked over to Angus' stall.

"Hi, boy," she greeted, her fingers stretching out to his soft pelt.

He tossed his head, his mane dancing around him. He arched his head over his shoulder, turning one large brown eye to her.

"You ready?" she asked him as she made her way to his gear. The young woman grabbed his blanket and tossed it over his back. As she smoothed it out, a familiar voice said, "Didn't expect to see you here today princess."

Her blue eyes darted to the young man who was the stable boy. He leaned casually against the frame of the stall, a shovel loosely grasped in his hand. His brown hair fell wildly over his brow, the long strands brushed against his thick eyelashes that framed warm, playful eyes.

She smiled. "Jack."

He smirked. "Last I checked."

She chuckled as she grabbed Angus' saddle, her knees buckling under the weight.

"Here," was the only warning she had before strong arms snaked underneath the saddle and lifted it from her grip.

She stepped back and clamped her hands behind her back as she watched him set the saddle on the Clydesdale back and buckle it. "I can do that myself you know."

"Perhaps, but we don't want the princess to injure herself, now do we? Especially with the clans coming today."

A groan escaped her lips as she snatched the bridle and reigns. "Don't remind me."

"Tired of trying to be responsible already?" he teased.

"You're one to talk," she countered.

He laughed lightly as he stepped away from Angus, giving him a loving pat. "Fun is my responsibility."

She shook her head, hoping that her mane of curls was successfully hiding the smiling she was fighting against. As she finished prepping Angus for their ride, she sighed as her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Something wrong, princess?" came the gentle question.

"I'm not ready still," she whispered hoarsely as she rested her head against her horse's side, relaxing into the steady rise and fall of his breathing. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready."

"Perhaps not being ready is a sign that you are," he offered before chuckling lightly and wrapping his arms around her waist. She yelped in surprise as he spun her around, her hair and legs flailing. Soon her yelp turned into hearty laughter as she entwined her arms around his neck and threw her head back.

When he finally set her feet back on the ground, she stumbled slightly as blood roared in her ears.

"Dizzy? I thought a princess was supposed to be composed," he smirked.

She chuckled as she shoved him away. "Thanks, Jack."

A sad smile pulled at his lips. "Any time."

He turned to walk away, but the young princess leapt forward and captured him around the waist. She buried her face in his shirt and mumbled, "Why can't it be you? I'm not ready."

The young man took a deep breath as he tried to pull his muscles into what he believed was a smile. He spun around in her arms until her face rested against his chest. He lifted a long fingered hand to her hair and entwined it in the vibrant strands.

"It's been fun while it lasted, princess."

"But why can't it last longer?"

"We both knew that wasn't going to happen," he answered softly as his fingers grazed against her jaw before cupping her cheek and tilting her face upwards. He pressed his thumb underneath her eye and wiped away the tears that were collecting there. Slowly he leaned down and pressed his lips gently to hers. He pulled back slightly and fought out over a lump in his throat, "I love you, Merida."

"And I love you," she responded without a second thought. She pushed herself onto her toes to kiss him again before he pulled away.

A forlorn smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he grabbed his shovel. "Best be heading out. You keep moving so slow and the clans will be here before you can leave the gate."

And with that he was gone, and the young princess clambered onto Angus. His hooves clattered against the cobblestone as he ran from the castle, and she let the wind whipping past her dry her eyes.

 


	12. Former Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous on Tumblr

Well.

She hadn't seen that smirk in a while.

Five years if she remembered correctly.

And the person it belonged to had been an insufferable roommate. She had yet to regret her decision of moving out and renting a small apartment closer to her job, but as her friend smiled as she introduced old high school friend, her heart clenched a bit.

His crystal blue eyes still held that mischievous sparkle that had somehow roped her into sharing an apartment with him. His bleached hair brushed over his dark eyebrows as he leaned against the side of her cubicle. The smirk on his face deepened as his eyes scanned over her. "Fancy seeing you here, Red Hots. So tell me, how much gel does it take for you to get your hair in that bun?"

A scowl pulled at her lips. Right, that was why she had moved out. He was teasing and rude, and apparently some things don't change.

"Do you two know each other?" her friend asked, tucking a blonde strand of hair behind her ear.

She slouched back in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest. "Regrettably the answer is yes."

"'Regrettably'?" he repeated with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yes," she snapped.

"How'd you guys meet?"

"We went to college together. Shared an apartment for a couple years after graduation," he answered promptly.

"Oh. I—I didn't know you two—I didn't know that you had been…" the blonde floundered.

"No!" she shouted, before wincing at the volume of her voice in the wide office floor. "It wasn't like that. It was for convenience's sake only," she assured. "Right, Jack?"

"Yeah. Convenience only."

"Oh…okay. I'll leave you two to catch up then," she said shyly before ducking out of the cubicle.

The woman sighed, blowing a stray curl from her eye. She reached out and clamped her fingers around her desk, spinning her chair to face it and pulling herself back to it.

"I never thought that I'd see you like this," came his voice.

"What? With a good job?" she snapped.

"Being bored out of your mind because being paid for doing something you hate is better than doing something you love."

"Archery doesn't really pay the bills, Frosty."

She could hear the shrug in his voice. "So you didn't make the Olympic team. You could've become an instructor: started your own business. You could've done something fun, Merida."

He sighed and in her mind's eye she could see his long fingers pushing through his hair, ruffling the locks. "I got a new place on 10th. You should come over for dinner one day. Catch up, you know."

"Yeah," she mumbled as she opened a file her boss had sent and began skimming through it.

"I'm serious."

She groaned and spun around to look up at him. His blue eyes sparkled gently and in no time she found herself giving in.

* * *

Goosebumps flowered up her arms as she stepped through the door. Her hands automatically began rubbing up and down her arms in hopes that the friction would bring a satisfying warmth. "I see you still like it below freezing," she grumbled.

"I see you still can't say anything that resembles a greeting," he countered with an arched eyebrow.

She chuckled briefly, before schooling her features. "Alright, Frosty. I was promised dinner."

He draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her through the living room to a small kitchen. "Got to make it first," he said as he dropped her off in front of the sink where a colander of lettuce sat before making his way to the cutting board.

"I thought I was a guest. Since when do you make guests cook?" she whined as she pushed her sleeves up to he elbow.

"Since I don't view you as a guest. You used to like cooking together," he responded simply.

"'Used to' being the key phrase," she countered as she turned on the tap and let the water run over the lettuce.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

She shrugged noncommittally as she stuck her hand in the colander and halfheartedly pushed the lettuce around. She felt the warmth over his body pulsating against her back but chose to ignore.

He reached around her and turned off the water before his long fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"Jack…" she began before she was yanked around. She slammed against his chest as his arms clamped around her waist, holding her to him. His lips crashed against hers with violent passion.

She stood in shock for a moment trying to decide what to do. With each passing second of her indecision, his kiss became more desperate. As the soreness of her lips grew and her lungs began to burn from oxygen starvation, a fire leapt to life in her chest and she threw her arms around his neck and returned the passion.

His thumbs idly rubbed small circles on her back tantalizingly slowly before they withdrew to slide down her sides. His fingers hooked around her knees and hitched her legs up around his hips. Once satisfied with her new position, one arm returned to a protective hold around her while the fingers of his other entwined in her fiery curls which she had thankfully worn down tonight.

He stumbled from the kitchen into the living room as she clung desperately to him. Her legs latched on tightly around him as her fingers clawed at his hair, arching his neck backwards as she deepened the kiss.

She felt herself pitch backwards as he tripped over the couch. They landed with a soft thump of entangled limbs, but they paid no mind to the new position as they focused on releasing too many years of pent up aggression and passion.

When they finally broke apart, lips hovering over each other, their chests heaved violently, greedy to gather the oxygen denied them for so long. The pocket of air surrounding them was warm and heady as they slowly became aware of the intimate way their bodies pressed against the others'.

Jack smirked as he pressed himself closer to the woman under him, his lips brushing against her jawline until he reached her ear. "You're not leaving again," his warm breath poured over her ear. "I won't let you."

Merida felt her body shiver as she cradled his face in her hands, pulling him back to look at him. "Good," she whispered hoarsely before dragging him back to her and ensnaring his lips in her own.

 


	13. Sexy Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Anonymous on Tumblr

His bleached locks defied gravity as they stuck out in a tousled halo around his head. His jaw tightened as the back of his mouth stretched into a yawn. A long fingered hand snaked to the back of his neck and massaged the sleep stiffened muscles. With a guttural groan, he tossed the sheets from his legs and stumbled to the floor. He rubbed his bleary eyes as he shuffled from the darkened bedroom.

As he stepped out into the living, sunlight eagerly assailed his face, licking at his eyes like a puppy happy to see the sorely missed face of its owner. Sighing, he squinted his eyes against the blinding warmth and made his way towards the bustling movement that spilled from the kitchen. His blue eyes were greeted by a dressed form whose fiery curls were pulled atop her head in a loose ponytail. She leaned lazily against the counter as she ate an apple, her bright eyes staring out the small window over the sink.

A smirk twitched his lips as he rested his temple against the doorframe. "What are you doing up?" he asked, his voice cracking from the lack of use.

Her eyes darted towards him and she smiled as she took another bit of the soft white flesh of the fruit. "The sun's up," she answered simply.

"It's Saturday."

"So?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't you ever sleep in?"

"Not unless I have reason to."

"I'm not reason enough?" he smirked as he pushed off from the door frame and stalked towards her.

She shrugged and took another bite, chewing slowly. "You keep the room below freezing. I'm always cold."

"Well," he drawled, snatching her hips and pulling her towards him, "there's an easy remedy for that."

"Oh, really?" she teased, raising the apple to her lips again and taking a defiant bite.

"Mhmm," he murmured as he stepped forward and pinned her against the countertop. He placed his forehead against hers, his breath dancing over her skin. His fingers crept underneath her shirt and stroked the soft skin with gentle slowness. His thin lips ghosted across her warm pliable ones before ducking away and tracing her jaw. As they made their way to her collarbone, his fingers tugging the neck of her shirt down for better access, he heard her swallow hardly, and a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Well," she squeezed out, "we can always try it."

"Not now," he exclaimed with a smirk, pulling away from her.

No longer supported by him, her body stumbled forward. "Why not?" she whined.

He chuckled as he tapped a long finger on her nose. "You need to finish the apple. You're a growing girl. You need all the nutrition you can get. I'd hate to be the cause of your stunted growth."

She growled as she tossed the apple into the sink and launched herself onto him. Her arms latched around his neck as she pulled him down to her and viciously ensnared his lips with her own. Her fingers snuck into his hair and massaged his scalp.

The young man reached down and grasped ahold behind her knees and hitched her legs up around his waist. She responded enthusiastically as she tightened her grip on his hips and neck, melding her soft body against his hard one. He wrapped a lithe arm around her waist and unforgivingly held her to him while the fingers of his free hand yanked out the elastic that bound her curls and dropped it to the floor. The long appendages quickly returned to tangle in the unmanageable curls, grasping tightly as he arched her head backwards and ravished the tender flesh exposed.

She gasped as her body thrust against his and her fingers flexed, loosening briefly before tightening their grip on the strands of his hair that she possessed. The fingers of his hand wrapped around her tugged the hem of her shirt upwards, the tips of his fingers lingering tantalizingly against her soft skin. He traced idle patterns in the yielding flesh before grasping tightly, straining to draw her even closer. A thrill ran through his body as she shuddered against him at his touch. Her hands fled his hair and he groaned in annoyance until they snuck down the neck of his shirt, her nails grazing the skin of his back.

"Jack," she panted.

"Mhmm?" he mumbled against her succulent flesh.

"This shirt…has got to…go," she heaved as her fingers dug into his shoulders, his muscles rippling with desire in response.

"Just the shirt?" he smirked as he dragged his bottom lip up her throat, revelling in her body arching against his as she tipped her head backwards to make his pathway easier.

"Everything," she moaned.

He chuckled as he captured her lips with violent passion before blindly stumbling back to the bedroom, obliviously to the walls and furniture that impeded his path.

 


	14. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Anonymous on Tumblr

The doorbell clanged, shattering her peace in the small house. Groaning, she paused her movie and untangled her limbs to stand. She tightened the ponytail that miraculously managed to hold back her fiery curls and straightened her "This is my Costume" shirt.

She shuffled towards the front door and snatched up the small plastic bowl with assorted lollipops she had gotten at the dollar store that afternoon at the last minute. Resting it on her hip, she unlocked the door and swung it open after plastering a smile on her face. As her bright eyes met familiar blue, her shoulders dropped, her smile following.

"It's just you," she breathed out as she tossed the bowl back onto the small table it had been resting on.

"Well, that's a horrible greeting." A finger poked her between the eyes as the voice continued, "People usually say 'Happy Halloween' or 'Look at how cute you are!'. Is it that hard to remember?"

"I'm not in the mood, Jack."

The young man scoffed. "I can tell."

"What are you even dressed as?"

A smile pulled at his lips as he stepped back from the doorstep and stretched out his arms. "The Easter Kangaroo."

A red eyebrow arched. "Hate to rain on your parade, but it's the Easter Bunny."

He smirked, "Perhaps here, but what about in Australia."

She released a soft chuckle. "You're bugging Aster again, aren't you?"

A triumphant grin twitched at the corner of his lips. "That obvious?"

"Painfully."

"Good," he declared. "Now," he continued, inviting himself into her house and shutting the door behind him, "since I have a costume: trick o' treat!"

Chapped hands cupped and extended up to her nose.

Smacking them away, she exclaimed, "You're such a kid."

His bottom lip curled out, eliciting a grumble of annoyance for the young woman.

"I get enough of your tricks as it is. So, here," she said, tossing a yellow lollipop at him.

Jack deftly caught it. His blue eyes roamed over it briefly before he raised it and tapped it against her small nose. "Not what I had in mind. Besides, I don't want your hate filled candy."

"Hate would be an improvement over the crap that's probably in that," she countered.

His eyes widened briefly before he laughed, sticking the candy in his pocket. "So am I getting my treat or not?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Hmm," she mumbled in thought as she leaned forward against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You've been pretty naughty."

"That's Christmas."

She shrugged off the discrepancy. "Do you want a treat?"

"Yes," he answered petulantly.

The red head smiled as she closed the space between them and pressed her lips against his. Slender arms snaked around her and held her close, deepening the kiss.

A loud bang and low snickering broke them apart.

"What the hell was that?" Jack exclaimed.

"My brothers, the wee devils," she groaned as she pulled away. "You are now going to witness why I hate Halloween."

"They can't be that bad," he chuckled.

A sly grin pulled at her lips. "We'll see if you'll still be saying that later."

She pulled the door open and shouted, "Boys!"

 


	15. After a Long Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Guest on Fanfiction

"Oi," she grunted in pain as she flopped on her stomach on top of the bed. The soft mattress happily welcomed her weight, but the old wooden bedframe groaned in protest.

A soft chuckle met her ears. "Keep that up and we'll have to get a new bed."

"Not in the mood, Frosty," she mumbled, her voice muffled by the thick comforter.

"Long day?"

"What do you think?" she snapped as she sat up, crossing her legs. Blue eyes glared at the young man casually leaning against the doorframe. She screwed her face in a playful grimace as she pulled out the elastic that held her fiery curls back. Tilting her head to the side, a hand crept to her neck to massage the stiff muscles.

"That you look beautiful with your hair down."

The young woman froze for a moment to process that comment before a gentle smile snagged her lips.

He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked up to the bed. Sitting down behind her, he wrapped his long fingers around shoulders and massaged the warm, stressed muscles with his cool, calm hands. She sighed in relief as she bent her head forward, gathering her mass of hair in her hands and pulling it over her shoulder to give him better access.

"God," he said as his fingers dug in, "did you get a knot for each idiot you encountered today?"

She gave a breathy laugh. "No. Every five maybe."

His fingers stilled. "That's frightening."

A quiet smile spread across her face as she shut her eyes and let the white haired man continue his ministrations. After several relaxing moments, his fingers retreated which earned a moan of protest from the young woman. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and, after placing his legs on either side of her, nestled her against in chest.

"Don't worry. I've made sure that idiots can't bug you here," he bragged.

"Well you did a poor job. There's still one left," she teased, burrowing deeper into his chest.

"You wound me!" he exclaimed. "I will not let this injury go without just punishment!"

His fingertips slid down her arms and snuck underneath them before attacking her waist. Before she could contain them, the guffaws spilled from her lips as she curled in on herself and tried to drag herself away.

"You're not getting away!" he declared as he leaped on top of her, his fingers continually attacking every inch of her body with fevered tickles.

Her breathing came out in heavy pants around her chortles, scraping her throat raw. She clutched her stomach to offer some protection as her chest burned with the force of her laughter. Her fingers balled into small fist that pounded weakly against his chest as she squirmed to escape the prison of his legs.

The cool fingers migrated from her stomach to her underarms to her neck before entangling in her fiery curls. They gripped firmly on the strands and tilted her head up as chapped lips covered hers and sealed off the sounds of her laughter. Her breath hitched for a moment as the firm lips devoured hers. A light body weight slowly settling on top of her.

Her fingers uncurled and gripped ahold of lean, muscled upper arms as she arched into him. The young woman returned his passion with equal fervor until her tired lungs gave out too early. Their lips pulled apart, reluctant to leave each other, as the two entwined bodies refilled on needed oxygen.

"Better?" he asked, his lips ghosting over hers with the movement.

She tightened her grasp on his arms and yanked him back down into another kiss for her answer.

 


	16. Trouble Falling Asleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by GwenRoses on Fanfiction

The gentle hum of snoring blanketed around his restless form. Pipes creaked and clanged as they contracted in the cool night air. Somewhere down the street a dog decided to begin barking but was quickly challenged by one much closer and the howling chorus grew in crescendo.

He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair that glowed softly in the gentle moonlight that filtered through the blinds that covered the window. Tossing an arm over his eyes to block out the light, he rolled onto his side. Taking a deep breath, he tried once again to empty his mind and fall asleep.

But something kept itching at the base of the skull.

Something wasn't right.

And he could get to sleep because of it.

Growling in frustration, he tossed his arm out in front of him and lazily flapped his hand in the empty air at the edge of the bed. His blue eyes gazed at the digital clock that stared at him with bright green numbers that read 1:16. He watched as the colon blinked consistently, counting out each passing second with a steady rhythm. Soon the clock read 1:17, then 1:18, and before he knew it, the blaring numbers display 2:05.

Once bored with watching time pass, he rolled onto his other side and studied the sleeping woman carefully. Her round face was smooth and peaceful. Her lips parted slightly as gentle, breathy snores rumbled past them. Her fiery curls spilled across the pillow in a tangled mess.

He silently lifted his hand and entwined his fingers in the curls, brushing through them. When he reached a knot, he would bring his other hand to it and carefully untangle the mass until he was able to glide his fingers through without interruption. The back of his hand accidentally brushed against her cheek and she stirred. His movements froze, hoping that she wouldn't wake up.

Her chest rose as she took a deep breath before rolling onto her side, curling in on herself as her fingers wrapped around his wrist and tucked his hand underneath her cheek. She let out the breath and quieted once again.

He smiled lovingly at the way she cradled his palm against her cheek. Risking it, he rubbed small circles against her warm skin with his thumb. The young man yelped in surprise when teeth clamped around his finger and blue eyes shot open.

The young woman chuckled as she let go of his thumb. "What are you still doing up?" she asked, her voice husky from sleep.

He shrugged off her question and the sound that had somehow managed to escape his lips as he nestled back into his pillow; his free hand rising to lazily stroke her arm.

Her warm fingers brushed against his forehead before pushing through his bleached hair. "Is something bothering you?"

"No," he mumbled.

She arched an eyebrow as she punched his shoulder. "Liar."

"Ow," he muttered as he looked at her with a hurt expression.

"Oh, you're fine."

"You've wounded me."

She chuckled lightly as she pushed herself up on her elbows, finally releasing his hand, and crawling closer to him. She lay down next to him, burrowing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her body close as he rested his chin amongst the fiery strands of her hair.

"Well?" she prompted, her warm breath ghosting across the bare skin of his throat.

"I don't know," he whispered into her hair. "Just something's bugging me. I forgot something," he pondered aloud.

"You have no idea about what it could be?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be having this problem."

"Alright, alright. Fair enough," she bit out through a violent yawn.

"You should get back to sleep."

"Not until you."

"C'mon," he reprimanded, pulling back. "You were so tired that the moment your head hit the pillow you were out. I didn't even get a kiss goodnight."

As the words fell from his lips, an idea slithered into his mind. He cradled her face in his long fingers and tilted her chin upwards. He pressed his lips against hers and pulled her closer. Her fingers tightened, clutching onto fistfuls of his shirt as she arched into his touch.

"Better," he murmured against her lips as he pulled back and laid his head against his pillow, exhaustion finally pulling his eyelids over his eyes.

She chuckled, shaking her head, as she rolled onto her other side and rested her back against his chest. A slender arm draped over her waist as another buried underneath her until she was held in a warm embrace against him. His lips brushed against her shoulder before he buried his face in her back and the two fell asleep.

 


	17. Newborn Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: dreamsofafuturethomasian on Tumblr

The sharp cry of his wife pierced his ear. It was soon harmonized with that of his daughter. His brows pulled together in silent pain as her fingers curled tighter around his, her nails digging into back of his hand, as she tiredly gave another last needed push. Her frame collapsed back on the bed. Her brow drenched and red curls clinging to her face. Her shoulders shook with deep breaths as her bright eyes glazed over in confusion before sharpening.

"Where," she panted. "Where…"

He hushed her gently. His free hand pushed back the resilient curls from her forehead before he placed a loving kiss to her damp skin, hovering tenderly before pulling back.

The next thing his scrambled mind was able to acknowledge was the warm bundle placed gently in his arms. A quiet grumble caught his ear over his wife's ragged breathing. And then…

Just a small peek.

Her face was bright red and splotched. Her hair still fairly damp. Crinklde lids pulled back slightly, testing the new world before shutting resolutely against the harsh light.

A small chuckle shook his chest, and if he wasn't mistaken, the small form in his arms relaxed into the movement.

She was perfect.

She was beautiful.

She was lovely.

She was his.

His daughter.

His.

He had created this.

He and Merida had brought a wonderful life into this world.

A choked sob broke through the smile that pulled at his lips as tears trailed winding paths down his cheeks.

"You're so emotional," his wife teased.

"You're one to talk, Miss Fiery Temper," he responded on the beat, looking up to meet her bright blue eyes.

Merida stretched out her arms. "Let me hold her."

Jack's eyes darted back down to his daughter. He tightened his grip on her, bouncing her briefly, before handing her over to his wife with a kiss.

She pushed her mass of curls over her shoulder and drew her child closer, cradling her to her breast. He gave into his weak knees and sat on the edge of the bed. Wrapping an arm around Merida's shoulders, he placed a tender kiss on her cheek. She turned and met his lips with hers, ensnaring them with bliss.

A soft cry pulled them apart. The two parents chuckled as two pairs of bright blue eyes turned to meet convincingly upset gray ones.

"Hey," Jack called out with a smirk, "don't be thinkin' you have her all to yourself now."

 


	18. Watching Titanic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by tenebrissagittarius

His long, lanky body dropped onto the sofa. Lazily, he stretched his limbs out across the cushions.

"I can't believe you got me to do this," he moaned.

"You're making up for yesterday," the redhead called out over her shoulder as she knelt in front of the entertainment center.

The teen huffed as he ruffled his fingers through his white locks. "It was a snowball fight. Just a bit of fun."

"No. It was a bombing. And not when I'm in an evening gown," she snapped over her shoulder.

A sly grin pulled at his thin lips. "So sorry to ruin your look. It's such a rare thing for you to look so nice and well-made, I'm—"

"Jack!" the red-head groaned.

"Merida!" he returned.

"On any other day, it would have been fun but you knew I had the dinner with Da's business partners. Do you know how long of a lecture Mum gave me?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," he grumbled.

"An hour, Jack! I had to listen to her rant about my responsibilities and duties and, and what have you for an hour, and so you will sit and watch a movie of my choice with me."

"Aw, c'mon. How long is this movie anyway?"

"Hmm," she muttered as her bright eyes scanned over the back of the movie case. "Hundred and ninety seven," she announced as she opened the DVD player and placed the disc in.

Jack nodded slowly before yelping, "That's over three hours!"

"So?" Merida asked as she stood up and made her way to the sofa.

"This is payback for an hour lecture."

"And," the redhead began to list as she shoved his care feet off the cushions and plop down in their place, "the thirty minutes it took to fix my hair, another fifteen for the make-up, the damage to that dress, and the stress of the whole affair," she concluded dramatically.

The white haired teen groaned in mock agony as he tossed his feet on to Merida's lap. "This is so unfair."

"Perhaps," she smirked as she pushed his feet off her legs.

"Why do you do this to me?" he whined.

Merida chuckled as she pressed played, grabbed the bowl of popcorn on the table next to the sofa and nestled into the cushions to enjoy her guilty-pleasure movie.

* * *

Jack rested his back against the arm of the sofa, his legs stretched out in front of him. His long toes brushed unconsciously against Merida's leg. His blue eyes drunk in the red head on the screen before chuckling softly.

"What?" Merida hissed, upset about being drawn away from her movie.

"Well," Jack pondered with a sly grin, "A spoiled, bratty redhead. Now why does that sound familiar?"

Red brows scrunched threateningly as she snatched a piece of popcorn from the metal bowl in her lap and chucked it at his face. His mouth gaped open and leaned forward, catching it effortlessly. He smiled with triumphant smugness as he pumped his fists into the air.

Merida found herself smiling before she frowned and tossed another at him and watched as it bounced lightly off his forehead. Jack's face slacked before he glared. She offered a smirk before turning back to the movie.

And once again within a few minutes she was pulled away.

"Wait, Jack?"

"Yes," she grounded out impatiently. "Haven't you been paying attention to anything?" she huffed under her breath.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched an eyebrow arch suggestively.

"No," she shouted turning to him. "Nope. You shut up."

"I didn't say anything," he smirked.

"Don't care. Shut up."

"Yes, your spoiled, bratty, redheaded highness."

She huffed and refused to acknowledge his comment. Maybe this had been a bad idea on her part. This was becoming more of a torture to her than it was to him.

It was only a few minutes later that found him commenting yet again. "I would've let her jump."

"Jerk," she retorted as she pop a half opened kernel into her mouth and bit down on it carefully.

He sat up. "He's just getting involved—Ha!," he exclaimed hitting her knee as he jerked his finger to the TV. "See. Just admitted it himself. He's involved."

"And? It's sweet."

"No, it's going to be problematic for him. I tell you that," he asserted as he snatched a handful of popcorn. "Him getting involved is just going to screw him over in the end."

Merida nodded in agreement before—"Wait. You don't know what happens?"

Jack's hand froze halfway to his mouth. His eyes darted towards her as he arched an eyebrow towards his hairline. "Merida," he said slowly, "I haven't seen this. Of course I don't know what happens."

"Oh, I thought everyone at least knew the basic story."

"Yeah, spoiler, the ship sinks," he smirked as his eyes turned back to the movie.

The redhead found herself chuckling as she turned back to the movie.

* * *

"'You wanna go to a real party?'" Jack echoed. He arched an eyebrow as he continued watching. His blue eyes only tore themselves away temporarily to forlornly look inside the empty popcorn bowl. "Yes, I do," he answered, "If there's food involved."

Merida chuckled as she pulled her fiery curls on top of her head and wrapped a hair tie around the mass. "You only have yourself to blame."

He only grumbled as he turned back to the movie, arching an eyebrow as he watched the dancing.

The redhead smiled lightly, her blues eyes sparkling as she watched the dancing figures. "It looks like so much fun," she murmured quietly.

In the blink of an eye, Merida was yanked to her feet; the bowl tumbling the ground as butter kernels spilled onto the cream carpet.

"Jack!"

The white haired teen ignored her outcry as he watched the movements of his name double and tried to mimic his movements. The redhead found herself dragged along and repeatedly stepped on as he tried to pull her into a dance. However, she was laughing too hard to join in.

The teen stopped and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "You can't laugh like that if you want to do this."

Choking back her snorts, she nodded, pinching her lips tightly. Jack nodded and once again tried to pull her into some resemblance of the dance onscreen, but the two soon found themselves in an entangled mess on the floor, peals of laughter shaking their bodies.

Carefully pulling herself out, Merida picked up the bowl, tossing the kernels into it and made her way to the kitchen. She dumped the bowl into the sink and snatched a glass out of a cabinet. Once she filled her glass with water, she made her way back to the living room.

"Well, that's crap," greeted her ears as she stepped into the room.

"What?" she asked as she stepped in, see the aftermath of Cal's blowup.

"What the hell?" he shouted as he perched on the edge of the sofa. "Really? That little—"

"Jack," she sighed amusedly.

"Bastard! How conceited, the spoiled, little—"

"Jack!" she shouted as she plopped down next to him.

"What the hell is this?"

"A movie!" she said, her voice filled with laughter. "Calm down."

"What are you smiling at?" he demanded, his eyes flashing to her.

"Nothing," she smirked as she put the glass to her lips.

Suddenly, cool fingers brushed against hers as the glass was ripped from her hands and brought to thin lips.

"Hey!" she protested.

"I'm thirsty."

Merida grumbled and crossed her arms, burying her back into the cushion of the sofa.

"Fine," he relented, holding the glass in front of her face.

Smiling triumphantly, she took it back.

* * *

The redhead tucked her feet underneath her, her fingers wrapping around her cold toes. Pulling her elbows into her side, she bent over at the waist until her nose brushed against the cushion of the sofa. Her mind rushed over the current time and the essay she had to finish for tomorrow. Maybe watching this movie on a school night hadn't been the wisest idea on her part.

"Merida—" came a cracked call.

"Hmm?" she questioned, placing her forehead on her knee and glancing up at Jack.

He looked like a deer in the headlights. His bright eyes were innocently wide, his brows brushed against his hairline and his mouth slack. "What—uh—," he stumbled over. "Is sh—yep—"

She drew her eyebrows together and turned her eyes to the screen just to watch the robe drop to the floor. A smirk curled her lips as she turned her gaze back to Jack. "Are you embarrassed?" she teased.

"No!" he insisted, turning his eyes to her. "What'd make you say that!"

Merida sat up and brushed a finger from one to cheek to the other, crossing the bridge of his nose. "Well, you've got a nice little blush going."

The teen swatted her hand away and spluttered as he turned back to the screen to defiantly watch as the redhead on screen lounge across the couch. The one next to him chuckled as she jumped to the floor and stretched out. "Jack," she purred, forcing down laughter, "I want you to draw me like one of your French girls."

"Shut up," he barked. His eyes never wavered from ahead of him, the blush on his cheeks deepening.

Merida threw her head back as laughter shook her frame. A snort ripped through her lips and she threw her hands over her mouth to stifle the nose. "You're such a virgin," she choked out.

"Shut up!" he insisted.

The redhead's laughter intensified as she rolled on to her back. "God, Jack. You. King of Innuendo. Can't handle a nude scene," she managed to squeeze out.

"Merida," he growled, his eyes finally turning towards her. He launched himself onto the ground and pinned her down.

On instinct, she wrapped her hands around his upper arms and placed her feet on his stomach. She pushed up and lifted him off herself, tossing him to the side. Merida managed to sit up before he was back at it again. In no time, the two were rolling across the floor, laughing and trying to pin the other down. A few minutes later found the redhead perched triumphantly on Jack, her legs straddling his hips and her fingers clutched onto his shoulders.

"Ha!" she declared.

The white haired teen only smirked as he thrusted himself upwards and rolled over until his body weight pinned the redhead underneath him. "Say it," he teased.

"Never!" she shouted as she struggled to wiggle free.

However, the weight disappeared on its own along with the exclamation of: "Oh God—"

Red eyebrows pulled together as blue eyes traced his quick retreat from the living room. She glanced up to the TV just in time to see a hand slip from a foggy window, and her laughter quickly returned.

"Seriously, Merida?" she heard echoing from the hallway.

This movie was proving quite rewarding.

* * *

It had taken a bit of coaxing to get him back into the room and sit to watch the rest of the movie.

"You sure? There's no more," he questioned again for the umpteenth time, but Merida's reassurance was cut short when the white haired teen shouted. "That bastard!"

"Who?" Blue eyes turned back to the TV.

"Him," he pointed vaguely.

"Which one?"

"Not Jack. The other. Her fiancé."

"Cal?"

"I don't know. But, damn. He just—He framed him with the butler dude. What the hell."

Merida chuckled as she playfully nudged her elbow into his side. "You're getting way too into this."

He harrumphed as he leaned back into the couch. He quieted down for a few minutes but soon piped up again with, "You're screwed, dude."

Merida groaned, shaking her head.

"What? They are. The ship's going down."

The redhead only shook her head and pulled her legs up on the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on top of her knees. She managed a few more minutes of silent movie viewing pleasure until  _whap_!

"That fuc—!"

"Jack!" she hollered in exasperation.

"He just fucking slapped her! What the hell, man! I swear, if you ever date a self-centered, egotistical—don't expect me to hold back my fist. At all. He'd be a fucking bloody pulp—"

"Jack!" Merida shouted, leaning across the sofa to grasp ahold of his shoulders. "It's a movie."

"I know, but—" he hissed.

"So calm down."

"What is this movie anyway? Who would write this and think: Yes, here is a perfect movie. This will be wonderful and uplifting."

"I'm pretty sure that's not what went through his mind," the redhead said as she let her hands drop.

"Apparently."

With a nod, she scooted back over to her side. In a moment, a white haired head was planted on her lap. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tired. Eight hours of school and now a three hour movie with about half left. I'm tired," he explained petulantly.

"Ya know there are pillows and the arm of the couch. You don't have to use my lap," she teased.

"Hmm…I'm already here."

* * *

"Shit. She has the worst aim."

"Mhmm," Merida agreed, absentmindedly twirling a pale strand of hair around a finger.

"And he's still going to let her—the idiot."

"Well, it's his only chance. That or certain death."

"No offense, but if you had aim like that I wouldn't let you do that," he mumbled into her leg.

"Lucky for you I've got great aim."

She felt his lips curl into a smile against her leg.

* * *

"Well, that's crap," he hollered, sitting up. "Yeah, just don't care that they're people. Let 'em die. No one's going to miss 'em."

"It was a different time, Jack. Different mentalities," she wearily explained.

"Still a load of bullshit."

"Of course it is."

"You wouldn't let them lock me on the lower decks would you?" he pondered as he lay back down.

"Well," she teased, "I would be rid of a very annoying presence."

"But you'd never be rid of the guilt. As you lay alone in your bed at night, the ghost of memories of me would drive you insane the rest of your life," he retorted playfully.

"You says I'd be alone?"

"Me. No one else can put up with your Scottish stubbornness."

* * *

"Quite a leap," was his next comment. "Kind of idiotic though."

"She wanted to be with him."

He paused for a moment before, "You'd probably do the same thing."

"Probably," she admitted. "I'd want to be with him 'til the end."

"You're too stubborn to save yourself," he complained as he rolled onto his back to look up at her. "I'd have to chain you to a lifeboat."

"My hero," she smirked, her eyes darting down to meet his.

He smiled smugly in return before sticking his tongue out at her and turning back to the movie.

* * *

"Put your hands up! It's more fun that way."

"Jack!" Merida forced herself to scold despite the smile twitching at the corner of her lips.

"What? Can't you take a joke?"

She only shook her head, trying to hide her smile as she turned back to the movie.

* * *

And, of course, while Merida was fighting not to cry with Jack present, he had the gall to say: "There's room for both of them."

"Shh."

"I mean really."

"Shh!" she hissed harshly.

"Okay."

* * *

"Glad I'm not him," he concluded as the credits rolled and he stood up.

"Why?" she questioned as she turned the volume up a couple notches to listen to Celine.

"I'd end up dead, frozen in the ocean. Without the girl. Talk about a sucky way to go."

"But, she got to live on because of his sacrifice."

"Yeah, but—" he took a moment, his brows screwed in thought before shaking his head. "I don't see how you can watch this movie for fun."

"I don't think that's why I watch it. Or anyone else," she responded.

"For DiCaprio?" he prompted slyly. "The wonderful romance that's doomed to fail?"

"No," Merida said sternly before pausing a moment to reflect. "I think—I don't know. For me I guess, it just reminds me to live life to the fullest. Embrace each moment and person you're given in life, ya know."

"Yeah, I know," he smirked. He leaned down, propping himself up with a hand on the armrest and another on the back of the couch, and placed a light kiss to her lips.

"Good luck with that essay," he whispered against her lips as he pulled back. With another smirk at the shock-stilled Merida, he turned and headed to the front door.

The redhead was only shaken out of her frozen state when she heard the door slam shut. Her brows furrowed as she jumped to her feet and darted to the door hissing, "The hell?! He thinks he can get away that easily?"

However, to her surprise, as she rounded the corner to the front door she slammed into a thin body. She looked up to meet glittering blue eyes and a wide smile. "Knew you'd come for more," he teased.

Merida growled in frustration but was quickly cut off as Jack dipped forward and brought their lips together again. His arms entwined around her waist as hers snaked around his shoulders, pulling him closer.

 


	19. Spirit of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by MysteryGirl7Freak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is inspired by PoisonDllu's "Jarida week: Spirit" and can be found on her deviantArt account.

A muffled sob caught her ear over the soft hum of the Wisps. Her head perked up and tilted towards the sound, her wild hair whipping around her shoulders.

"Shh," she pressed the glowing blue orbs.

They turned to her sadly before vanishing with a small  _pop_.

The strangled sniffles were louder now. The old Spirit felt her heart sink as she recognized the sounds of a young lost child. Slinging her bow over her shoulder, she glided through the woods towards the sound.

It only took a moment of searching to find the source of the sound. A small boy who couldn't have been any older than eight sat nestled between the large roots of an old tree. His thin arms wrapped around his legs; his face buried in his knees. His shoulders shook with his muffled tears. She watched as he lifted his head, wiping messy tears from his red rimmed ears and dragging his long sleeve underneath his running nose. He took a long sniff and shuffled his feet closer to his body. Small, long fingered hands grasped onto the edge of his cloak and tightened it around his slender framed.

The spirit recognized him: the young prankster from a nearby village. He had a talent for pulling out a laugh from even the most stubborn of lips. And he was mischievous when he wanted to be. Very mischievous. But, his heart was in the right place and he cared deeply for his newly born sister. And sadly, as the Spirit of Fate she could see where that would get him.

But, that was far in his future and he was not yet that young man.

A gentle smile crept across her lips as she watched his frightened eyes gaze up at the small patch of sky that could be seen through the thick canopy. Dark storm clouds were beginning to roll in and a biting, cold wind tore through the trees carrying small bits of ice with it. A rumbling thunder began far in the distance and slowly rolled its way towards them before clashing loudly. The young boy let out a small whimper and buried his face in his arms.

She remembered when she was his age, before she had become a Spirit. She had played at her mother's feet as she embroidered a large tapestry. A raging storm outside had scared from the floor into the elder woman's lap. And that's where he should be, that's where every young child should be in weather like this: the safe embrace of their mother.

Softly, the Spirit floated towards him and knelt above the ground in front of him. She raised a hand and brushed it gently through his brown locks, pushing the damp strands from his forehead.

He jumped away from her touch; his face turning up. His brown eyes widened in horror as he pressed himself deeper into the roots of the old oak. "Whaddya want? Don' hurt me! I did'int do anything! I swear!" he cried through sniffles in desperation.

A small smirk pulled at the corner of her lips. To the young boy her ethereal blue form that faded out slowly after her knees must be quite…scary. She was quite impressed he had yet to call her a demon. These people were always so superstitious.

"All's well, wee one," she whispered, withdrawing her hand. When he only recoiled further away from her shimmering form, she sighed. "Jack," she implored quietly.

"How d'ya know my name?" he barked at her.

"I know a lot about you, wee one. But now is not the time to talk of such things." She raised her hand and opened it palm up.

He flinched away, but she smiled comfortingly as she willed the Wisps to her. A small blue orb sparked to life in her palm and hummed softly, pulsated with a gentle blue light that matched her form.

Brown eyes widened in curiosity as he crawled closer to her. "What is that?" he asked in wonder.

"A Will-o-Wisp. They lead you to your fate. But, these, they will lead you home," she explained as more wisps gathered around the two forms.

"How?" he asked as the Wisp floated from her hand towards him.

She waved an arm and the blue orbs lined up and lit a path through the forest. "Just follow them. They'll lead you home."

Jack smiled and threw his arms around her neck. The old Spirit started at the physical contact that had become such a foreign thing for her. She smiled gently and returned the embrace before pulling him away and setting him on the path.

"Go on now. Your mother will be worrying."

He nodded and set off chasing the Wisps. "G'bye!" he called over his shoulder.

"Good-bye, Jack," she called after him.

Once his form had disappeared from sight, she sighed. "Until we meet again," she mumbled to herself.

 


	20. Suitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by talking-hat

"Suitor? Another one? Mum!"

"Merida," her mother groaned, "humor me. He's the son of a good friend of your father's. Don't think about it as a duty."

"Alright, how about a punishment? Or a prison sentence?" the red head shot back, her old temper flaring. "I'd thought we agreed to  _not_  do this."

"I'm not telling you to marry him!" her mother tried to reason, her fingers massaging her temple. "You owe your father a meeting. At least be present for their arrival later, say hello, and if you don't like him you don't have to stay. That's reasonable, is it not?"

The young girl huffed, blowing a stray curl from her eye on for it to flap back down and poke her. Her mother chuckled softly, stepped forward and tucked the resilient curl behind her daughter's ear. Her hands cupped Merida's round race as she smiled down. "For your father?"

"Oh, alright," the redhead replied, playfully rolling her eyes. "But don't expect much more."

"When would I ever overestimate you?" she asked gentle and leaned forward, rubbing their noses together.

Merida broke into bursts of laughter as she pushed away from her mother and ran out of the room, calling for her brothers.

* * *

Hissing, the young female DunBroch pulled the high, constricting collar of her dress from her neck.

"Havin' difficulty, my wee darlin'?" her father questioned, leaning over with a twinkle in his eye.

"Aye, breathing. But no worries, not like it's essential to my survival," she whispered out the corner of her mouth.

The burly man let out a hearty guffaw, his large hand slapping the arm of his thrown. His lips parted to comment, but the large doors creaked open to reveal a man as burly as her father but taller. Snow white hair flecked with streaks of black fell to his shoulders and graced his face. The man boomed, his voice rumbling across the throne room, "Fergus!"

"Nicholas!" her father returned in greeting as he rose strode across the room to meet the newcomer.

The two men clasped forearms, chuckling and exchanging pleasantries. Merida and her mother shared arched eyebrows and a private laugh as Fergus delved into his story of how his wife was turned into a bear by a dastardly witch that had tricked his daughter. The way he went on, it almost sounded as if he saved the day: staying the blade of his sword just in time to allow his daughter to transform his wife back.

The blue eyes turned away from the queen to spy a slender man with white hair leaning on a shepherd's crook. His eyes glinted with mischievousness as he scanned the room until they latched onto hers. His thin lips pulled into a smug smirk as he gazed at her.

Merida flinched away from the forwardness before getting ahold of herself and scrunching her nose and pulling her lips in a sneer of disgust.

"That's his son," her mother, who now stood at her elbow, whispered down to her. "Jackson."

"I figured," she responded, righting her face but never drawing her eyes away from ones just as brilliantly blue. "The hair and all."

"Yes, it's an interesting trait of the family. Now, how about you go and say hello."

"I don't want," she stated, crossing her arms.

"Merida," her mother snapped before taking a deep breath. "You promised."

"I know but—I don't like him."

"You haven't  _even met him_."

"Don't need to."

"Merida!"

"Fine," she said, pushing herself to her feet. "But I won't promise to enjoy his company or last longer than greetings," the redhead informed her mother as she pulled her shoulders back and raised her chin. With a small nod in acknowledgement to the Queen and the—empty—bench for her brothers, she made her way across the room.  _Really?_  She groaned inwardly. They could leave with unnoticed ease while she was stuck here.

Stopping an arm's reach away from the young man, she gave him a nod in acknowledgement.

"Aren't you going to curtsy?" he asked with that smug smirk.

"Aren't you going to bow?" she quipped.

"Maybe," he shrugged. "But I find things go smoother if it's the woman who does."

Red brows puckered in confusion before his meaning dawned on her. "You overstep your boundaries."

"I see it more as testing the fortifications, looking for weak spots easily punctured."

Nails bit into the tender skin of her palms as she forced herself to restrain from snatching the shepherd's crook and giving him a sound lashing.

His face loosened as a fierce laugh seized him. Bending over, he clutched his stomach until he managed to stand straight again, his breath coming out in short puffs. "You take things too seriously, princess. Learn to have some fun."

"Fun?" she questioned with pursed lips and arched eyebrow. "I'll show you fun," she challenged as she head out the doors and down to the stables with the white haired man at her heels.

"Gauntlet accepted," he teased with easy confidence.

She could just picture that smug smirk he was wearing, and it was so rewarding to imagine wiping it off. Oh, she would enjoy that. He wanted fun? She'd show him fun. But not necessarily with the arrows he had in mind.

 


	21. Surprise Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Anonymous on Tumblr

"Just admit that you miss him," the brunette said as she finished slicing an orange. Placing the slices on a plate, she stashed the cutting board and knife in the sink.

"Like you miss a splinter," the redhead shot back from the living room.

"Oh, that's not quite true," the young woman teased her friend as she snatched the plate and made her way into the other room.

Merida's sat cross-legged on the couch; her thin frame enveloped in a tattered, blue sweater. She attempted to push her fingers through her matted curls but gave up when she couldn't get past her ears.

"Perhaps you should cut it," her friend suggested.

"My hair wouldn't look as cute as yours if I chopped it off. It would resemble—if you turned a dandelion red that would be my hair short."

"Wait," Rapunzel questioned as she grabbed an orange slice and curled up next to her friend, "the white ones, right? The ones with all the seeds.

"Yeah."

The brunette paused for a minute before a quick burst of laughter broke through her lips. "I wonder how he would take that."

"Could you stop talking about Jack? Why do you always have to bring him up?" Merida complained as she reached over and grabbed an orange slice.

"I didn't say 'Jack'. I said 'he'. You read into that one, my dear." Rapunzel smirked.

"Oh, stuff it," the redhead said.

"Alright," she replied. Struggling through laughter, she opened her mouth and stuffed her orange slice inside. Clasping her teeth onto the soft flesh and wrapping her lips around the peel, she smiled and titled her head to the side.

Merida chuckled at her friend's antics. For a brief moment she forgot that Jack had been gone two weeks and still wouldn't be back for another week. Dammit. There she was thinking about him again, missing him again. Not that she'd ever admit to it.

The front door clanged open. "You guys here?" called out a familiar voice.

"Yeah. In the living room," Merida called over her shoulder.

"Where's Rapunzel?"

"In here, too. She's just got an orange slice stuffed in her mouth."

The brunette attempted to say something but it was garbled by the citrus fruit.

Laughing, Merida mimicked her friend and placed her own orange slice in her mouth, smiling around it.

Hiccup walked into the living room. Sweat glued his bangs to his forehead, and his freckles had become more prominent from the early summer sun. His green eyes studied the two before falling into a fit of chuckles. He picked up an orange slice for himself and wrapped his lips around it.

The redhead pushed her fingers against the peel to keep it from falling out as her laughter increased. Her bright eyes flickered to Rapunzel. The brunette's smile had changed and her eyes twinkled in a deceptive amusement. Screwing her eyebrows at her friend's change of expression, her confusion was interrupted by a well missed voice saying, "Having fun without me?"

Merida coughed as acidic juice burned her airway. Spluttering the orange slice out and peering out through watery eyes, she looked over her shoulder to spy a familiar slender frame and brilliant blue eyes peering out from a mop of white hair.

"Jack," she squeezed out with her depleted air supply.

"Yes, I know. I just take your breath away. You weep with joy at the sight of my handsome visage," he teased, his thin lips pulling back into a familiar smirk.

"Yes, you idiot. That's why," she retorted, struggling in vain to hold back the smile that desired to split her face.

He laughed as he shifted his weight to one foot, cocked his head to the side and opened his arms. His fingers curled inward a few times, beckoning her over.

Merida leapt over the armrest of the couch and launched herself into Jack's waiting arms. He wrapped them tightly around her waist as he twirled a few times before setting her down.

"I missed you," he told her in a hushed voice.

"I missed you, too," she whispered back, but not quietly enough.

"Like you miss a splinter, huh?" Rapunzel teased.

Merida poked her tongue out at her friend before burying her nose back into Jack's neck.

 


	22. Avengers AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Guest on Fanfiction

"So, how good are you with that bow?" he asked to the mess of red hair.

Before he could blink, she had spun around, tendrils of fire dancing across her cheek, knocked, drew and loosed an arrow that pinned the arm of his new blue sweater to the wall with a solid _thwack_.

"I don't know. How good am I?" she asked. The question rolled of her tongue after it had been twisted and knotted by her thick Scottish accent.

"Pretty damn good," he admitted as he wrapped his long fingers around the shaft of the arrow and made to yank it out.

"What are you doing?!" she cried out as she batted his hand away.

"Trying to free myself from the wall."

"You'll break the tip if you do it like that." Her nimble fingers wrapped around the shaft closer to the tip than he had been and pulled it out in a quick, decisive, yet gentle motion. Twirling the arrow in her fingers, she screwed her eyebrows curled her upper lip over her teeth. Her bright eyes roved his form briefly before she asked, "And what are you good at? Don't even look like you could lift a wee baby."

"Ha," he chuckled mirthlessly as he straightened his sweater. "I'm good at having fun."

"No offense, but I don't think fun will help anyone. Besides, I think Tony has enough fun to satiate the whole initiative."

"Ha, yet again. That's not all."

"Oh?"

"Watch this." He reached to his belt and pulled out a wooden stick with a curved end about a foot long. Tossing it up in the air, he watched as it grew to seven times in size before catching it effortlessly. Tapping the flat end of his crook against the tiled floor, a sheen layer of ice sprouted out from the wood until the entire hallway was covered. He rested the staff against his shoulder and cupped his hands together. Gently blowing onto them, he widened their reach and molded the misty breath that had escaped from his lips. Once he had shaped a bear he hardened it with a flick of the wrist and with another it was off, lumbering around the air and leaving a trail of snow flecks behind it.

"What are you? Some kind of god, like Thor?" she asked, her mouth agape and eyes wide as she watched until the bear disappeared in a puff of white.

"Haha, no. God? No way. Not that cool." He laughed, twirling his staff until it shrunk again and returning it to his belt.

"You've got that right."

"Ouch. That hurt."

The redhead only shrugged.

"So, what's your name?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but he stopped her.

"Your real name," he clarified.

"Dunbroch. Merida Dunbroch."

"Nice to meet you Dunbroch Merida. I'm Jack," he said, a smirk twitching at the corner of his lips.

She glared at him, but her own lips betrayed her feelings, too.

"Is your hair naturally like that?" Merida questioned, her hand darting to a white strand and twisting it around her finger.

"Yeah."

A loud thud resonated through the hall followed by a harsh grunt. "Frost!" shouted Fury form the end of the hall.

"Oops."

 


	23. Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: ToastyPistachio

"GAH!" The redhead let out a guttural groan as she threw the door to her room open. Tossing her backpack by her desk, she made her way to her bed and plopped down face first.

"What's up?" her friend asked as he stepped through the door and shut it behind him. He slipped his bag from his shoulder. He collapsed onto the floor next to the bed and unwound his legs out in front of him. Resting his head on the mattress, he stared at the spackle on the ceiling as his fingers dug into the matted, cream carpet.

"School," she rumbled into her pillow. "I've got that essay in McCleerey's tomorrow—"

"You haven't started it yet, have you?"

"Nope."

"Merida," he reprimanded.

"Jack," she returned, mocking his voice. With a huff, she sat up. She pushed her fiery curls from her eyes as she huffed, rattling her lips.

"C'mon, Merida. Something else has been buggin' you recently."

"I'm peachy," she mumbled as she punched her pillow.

Jack ruffled his bleached hair and stood up. He sat down on the bed besides his friend. "Liar."

Merida pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them. "Mum doesn't even pay attention to me anymore," she began. "Honestly, the only time I get two words from her is when she complains about my grades, or me practicing. Mainly it's telling me to watch the boys. The boys. The boys. The boys. 'Make sure Hamish eats all his peas.' 'Keep an eye on Hubert; he's being a handful today.' 'Can you put Harris to sleep? He's getting cranky.' Sometimes I think I'm invisible to her." She finished her rant.

Jack nodded slowly as he pulled a leg up and tucked his foot underneath him. "I understand that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I wasn't always this charming, suave man you see before you," he said, a smirk painting his face.

Merida chuckled.

"But seriously," he continued, nudging her, "for most of middle school and high school no one really took a second glance. Few even took a first. Teachers included. Growing up wasn't much better. Jumping from foster home to foster home doesn't always get you one-on-one attention."

Merida laid her head on Jack's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her legs. "You see me, Jack, right?"

"Well, yeah. It's kinda hard to miss that hair. It's like you have a traffic cone on your head," he joked.

But, she didn't return the laugh. She pulled away, pushing her hair behind her ear. Her bright eyes met his crystal blue ones.

"I think you're the only one who can see me," she said. Her tongue dashed out and slithered across her lips, moistening the chapped skin.

"Well, I don't think that's quite true. You've got Punz and Hic. Heh," he laughed nervously. "I'm pretty sure Hic's got a bit of a crush on you."

"He's too focused on Astrid," she whispered. Her eyes zeroed in on his lips as she leaned forward.

"Ah, well," Jack stumbled out, swallowing the dry lump that was forming in his throat as she inched closer. Words wouldn't come as he could make out less and less of her form and more and more of the smaller details—like the freckles that splattered lightly across the bridge of her nose. Before he knew it, her lips were on his. They fiercely tore at his as she got to her knees, and her hands traced his jawline until they curled into his hair. His neck arched back as she climbed into his lap.

For a moment, he wasn't sure what to do, but pent up emotions took over. He had wanted this since he first saw her, but she had always been focused on something else. His fingers reached out and stroked her thighs. Following their current upwards, he pushed the hem of her shirt up and rubbed the sensitive skin along her top of her jeans. He worked at the pliable skin as he continued upwards to her slender waist. As Jack's finger tips grazed the hard underwire of Merida's bra, he came to his senses.

He pulled away. Their chests heaved against each other, and he tried to forget the downward rushing heat. Her warm lips returned to his, but he turned his face away.

Bad idea.

They now ravished his neck, and he had to fight back a moan. "Merida," he said, his voice husky and breaking. "Mer—Merida. Don't."

"C'mon, Frost," she panted as she yanked herself closer to his body. "I know you've wanted this."

"Not like this," he stated. Jack grasped her forearms and pushed her off him.

She pouted her lips, and it took every sinew of strength he had to not drag his teeth across them. "Look. I—I don't want to be some—some—I don't know. I don't want to be who you go to for comfort. For a night this once, or a couple others down the road. I don't want to be used by you, just so you can feel wanted. If you actually want this, if you know you won't regret this, if you like me for real just a little, we can go on. But, I don't want to do this—"

He was cut off as her lips gently brushed his.

"Just lay with me?" she asked.

"Sure," he consented.

Merida untwined herself from him and fell back onto her bed. Jack crawled around her until he rested behind her, his back against the wall. He draped his arm over her waist and pulled her close, nuzzling into her wild hair.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For stopping me. I guess I probably would've regretted it in the morning."

"Yeah," he strangled out against the lump that was blocking his throat. He blinked against the stinging in his eyes. "No problem."

_It's better this way,_  he tried to convince himself.  _I couldn't take advantage of her like that. I want it for real…or not at all. No matter what._


	24. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Goddess of Imaginary

_Thud_.

The tip of her arrow embedded itself into the center mark of her target. Her lips turned down slightly as she studied it.

"Damn. How the hell do you do that?" her friend howled in appreciation.

"It's off," she criticized. Blowing a fiery curl from her forehead, she reached down to the quiver on her shoulder but her hand came up empty.

"I don't know what you're seeing," he continued.

"I'm seeing that it's a quarter inch from the center."

The white haired teen squinted, holding his hand up to his brow. "How can you know that?"

The young woman shrugged as she gripped her bow and began the journey across the field to the line of targets. "I need to do the set again."

"Again?" he groaned as he jumped up from the grass and dashed after her. "We've already been out here three hours. C'mon, it's Saturday! Let's have some fun!"

"Fun won't get me into the Olympics," she said as if repeating from rote. "You can head out if you want."

"But then I'd be leaving you all alone." He smirked and bumped his shoulder against hers.

"Shove it." She pushed him away with a playful smile.

He laughed as he rubbed where her fist had made contact with his arm. "I wish I could shoot like you."

"Why?" she asked as she reached out and pulled the first arrow from the target. She studied its mark among the many other battle scars scattered over it. Her fingers traced over it for a moment before placing the arrow in the quiver and moving down the row to the next target.

"It'd be nice to be able to do something."

"You can do things."

"Yeah….but I'm not good at anything."

"Well," the red head started to protest.

"Don't try, Mer. You're going to be an Olympic archer—"

"Hopefully."

"Nope. You're not allowed to think like that."

"Then you're not either," she insisted, stopping short and grabbing his arm.

"Yes, I am."

"Jack—"

"No! Listen, Mer. You've got your archery. Hic's got, well, look at what he can do with a couple gears and screws. And 'Punz, do I even need to start there?"

"Jack, that doesn't mean you're not good at anything."

"Okay, then what am I good at," he tested her. He shifted his weight back onto the heels of his feet as he crossed his arms, glaring down at her with ice blue eyes.

"You're good at making me laugh. Hell, you're good at making  _anyone_  laugh," she answered without pause.

"Where's that going to get me in life? I don't think making a fool out of yourself is a good life skill."

"I don't know, you could become a comedian! But you're missing my point," she shouted. "You're good at making me feel better. Whenever any of us are stressed about what's going on, you know who's there? You know who we go to? You. You, ya dumbass. You help us feel good, and relax, and have  _fun._  Do you know what sorry state I'd be in without you?"

"Wait? You could be worse off? Ooh," he sighed. "I don't think that's possible." His thin lips pulled up into his signature smirk.

"There you go," Merida smiled. "Now, I'm going to let that one go, but you say that again—"

"Oh, look, Legolas is threatening me," Jack teased as he draped an arm around his friend's shoulders. "You know, I always thought you were taller."

"There's the Jack I know. Now, don't go having another crisis again. I don't like saving your ass."

"Am I not a pretty enough damsel?"

"No, it's just a hassle."

 


	25. Pranks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: 986Weapons689

After the twins had planted a stink bomb in her car last week, Merida had enlisted the school's top prankster's help. Normally, she would have steered cleared of the white haired trouble maker, but she needed all the help she could get. Not to say she was horrible at pranks. She prided herself on the misadventures she got into, but she needed a professional.

"Isn't this a bit stereotypical?" she asked. Blowing a loose curl out of her eye, she lifted a knee up on at a time and stretched out her calves by pushing her heel out past her toes. Small pinpricks were beginning to dance around her muscles, and the cramped quarters of the science closet wasn't the most comfortable place either.

"It's classic. You never mess with a classic," he replied. Bright blue eyes remained fixated on the lab table Ruffnut and Tuffnut would soon be sitting at.

"Fine. Whatever. As long as it works." The red head groaned as she began to stretch her arms out.

"Of course it—What are you doing?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Stretching. My muscles are cramping. We've been in here for all of lunch."

"Well don't. There's not enough room. You might hit a shelf, and there are several liquids in here that I don't want anywhere near my skin."

"Don't want to blemish your porcelain complexion?"

"Despite what you might think, corrosive acid doesn't work well on acne."

"Shame. That was my next option."

"You're dermatologist is whacked."

The two shared a quiet chuckle. "How do you know so much?" Merida asked after a moment of silence.

Jack took a deep breath. "It all began when I was young—naught two years old. I realized that if I wished to—"

"Cut it. I meant about chem. How are you sure that…whatever you did," she said, emphasizing with a slight wave of her hand, "isn't going to start a fire?"

"I'm not just a troublemaker," he stated. His lips pursed into a thin line. "I'm pretty good—hell, I'm great with chemistry. Kinda have to be."

"Why?"

"I want to be a medical oncologist, primarily with pediatric cancer."

"Oh," Merida let out softly. She focused on the rectangle beam of light that fell across his face. She wanted to say something, but the bell clanging for attention prevented her.

"Here we go!" Jack whispered through a toothy grin.

"Let me get a good view," she said as she pushed forward to look through small window.

The prankster grunted in annoyance but allowed her to sneak between him and the door.

Merida bit her lip. Jack's hands pressed against the wall and door near her head to brace himself, unintentionally circling her quite intimately. She could feel his contours press against hers as he breathed in, and his warm breath curled around the nape of her neck when he breathed out.

After pinching her eyes shut and commanding herself to focus, she watched as the bumbling blond twins took their seats and partially listened to the teacher's instructions for the lab. Well, Ruffnut was trying to pay attention, scribbling what she could in her composition notebook. Her brother was the one antagonizing her out of it. Once they were left to themselves, Ruffnut quickly tied her apron around her and placed her goggles on. Meanwhile, Tuffnut's forehead and cheeks were bright red from his painful attempt to snap his goggles on and struggled in the strings of his apron.

As Ruffnut grabbed the first two vials to be mixed in the beaker, Jack leaned closer to Merida. "And…" he whispered, his voice tight with anticipation.

A plume of smoke peeled up from the beaker. Glass vials crashed to the table and floor, scattering shards everywhere. The twins stumbled away from their table coughing.

As the laughter shook Merida's frame, she lost control of her movements and bumped into the shelves.

_Clink-clink-clink-clink-clink_

Her eyes darted upwards to see a few bottles shaking precariously. When they had almost all stopped, one bottle of clear liquid labeled HCl tipped over and plummeted down. Long fingers darted out and wrapped around it with ease.

Her eyes darted to Jack's face; a smirk pulled at his lips. "Careful. That wouldn't have been too pleasant in your eyes."

"My hero."

He let out a single laugh. Merida wasn't sure whether or not he had had plans on continuing it. His lips remained parted slightly; his breath airy like he was still attempting to. The red head found herself trailing her tongue across her own parted lips. The bottle clinked into place somewhere on one of the shelves. The fingers that had been holding it now cradled her cheek as their brethren splayed themselves across the small of her back. He turned her gently until her back pressed against the closet door. The weight of his slender body rested against hers as his lips brushed across hers in silent request. Her fingers tangled into his mop of hair and pulled him down onto her.

Jack responded enthusiastically until the door was yanked open and the two toppled out into the classroom in a tangle of limbs. Two pairs of blue eyes looked up from the floor to a pair of green.

"Jack, I knew you liked chemistry, but don't you think this is taking it a bit far?" the teacher asked with an arched eyebrow and twitching lips.

 


	26. Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by XblackcatwidowX

He saw to outcomes. One: she accepted, throwing her arms around him and refusing to allow him to take a breath as she ravished his lips. Two: she rejected, running her mouth off about how presumptuous he was and he'd go swirling into the fiery pit of her anger. That was it. Perhaps others might think those reactions a bit extreme, but they didn't know Merida. She rarely did anything halfway. And that's why he loved her.

He was just hoping that on this particular occasion the extreme favored the first option.

His fingers tightened around her calloused hand. She squeezed his back and laid her head on his shoulder. Red tendrils defied gravity and stuck to his cheek and lips. He laughed and pushed the strands of hair away.

"You know, I think it's a bit like cotton candy," he said.

"What?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him.

"Your hair. One problem though, it certainly doesn't taste like it." He pulled another curl from his face, smacking his mouth for emphasis.

She smiled and looked away.

He frowned.

_That_ was not like her. She always had a rebuttal. Merida would fight tooth and nail for the last word.

"Granted, you'd be like the Wicked Witch then. You'd start melting the moment it starts raining."

She nodded.

"Okay," he said stopping short. "What the hell?"

Her brows furrowed over bright eyes. "Huh?"

"What the hell is up with you today?"

"That's the question you have for me?"

"What? No—Well, yes. It's a question for you. I want an answer. I swear; I don't know what's up with you today. It's starting to drive me crazy—and not in the way you usually do."

"Not  _a_ question," she corrected. " _The_ question."

"Who said I had anything to ask you?" he bit out.

"Oh, no one. It's nothing," she said with a wave of her hand. She tugged on his hand and tried to pull him farther down the path.

"No." He dug his heels into the ground. "I want to know what's been up with you lately. I don't know what's going on. It's making me wonder—"

"What? Wonder what, Jack?"

"Ah, nothing." It was his turn to shrug off answering.

"Don't tell me you're going to chicken out and not propose!" she groaned.

"What?"

Merida's lips pursed. "Oops," she mumbled.

"How did you know?" he demanded.

"The boys overheard you talking with Mum…"

With a huff, he dragged his hand down his face. "Of course. Ratted out by those little buggers."

"I just didn't want to ruin it," she said quietly.

"Ruin it?"

"Your proposal." She slipped her hand from his grip and shoved it into her jean pocket. Pushing a stray wisp of hair from her eye, she kicked at a rock. "Guys are big on that 'it-being-perfect' crap, right?"

A smile began to twitch at the corner of his lips. Laughter bubble up and broke through his lips. He doubled over, placing his hands on his knees to brace himself.

"Stop laughing!"

"Sorry," he squeezed out. Jack stood and stepped towards Merida. She flinched away, but he snatched her shoulders and yanked her close. Pressing her to his body, he ensnared her lips. After a moment he pulled away and said, "It wouldn't be "perfect" without at least one smartass comment from you."

"Good," she hummed.

"Well," he prompted.

"A deep hole used to get water out of the ground."

"There we go." His lips brushed over hers.

"Yes," she breathed out before pulling his mouth to hers and throwing her arms around his neck.

 


	27. Pirate AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by XblackcatwidowX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, this sounds like the beginning of a romance novel. I did NOT intend on that happening. Oh well…

The young man was drag above deck; his legs banged mercilessly against the wooden stairs. He hissed in pain. It was ignored as the two women who held his arms clamped down harder and jerked him forward. Sunlight and sea spray burned his eyes as he was pulled out into the open air. He ducked his head into his chest squinting his eyes shut.

“Captain, we found him stowed away in the cargo,” the blonde on his left shouted.

“Bring him here.”

The fingers on his arms dug into the muscle and hauled him forward and up the weather beaten steps to the poop deck. Booted toes jammed into the back of his knee. The young man growled as he fell to his knees.

“Hmm.” Pointed footfalls approached him until the heeled feet stopped just in his line of vision. “Do you know what the penalty is for illegal passage on my ship?” who he assumed was the captain asked.

“Your whole ship’s illegal,” he countered. He risked raising his head a bit and peered through barely cracked lids and strands of hair, but all he could make out was the shadowed form of a woman with a red halo around her head. “I don’t think a stowaway is the worst you’ve had to deal with.”

“You’re a plucky bastard, aren’t you?”

“I’m perfectly legitimate.”

“Legitimately plucky.” He could hear the smirk in her voice. “Now, for your punishment—” she began.

“Perhaps I could offer a hand,” he cut in. His eyes darted around the figures he could see on deck. Woman. Woman. Woman. Wo—little girl, hmph. “Your crew seems to all be women,” he remarked. “Surely you need a stronger hand to—”

“First, did you interrupt me?” The captain knelt down and attempted to peer through his mop of hair. He smirked at her frustrated frown when she couldn’t make out much of his features. He, on the other hand, could now make out the scrunched button nose, the dabble of freckles, the bright eyes and the flaming curls that tumbled down her back and over her shoulders.

“Do that again and I carve your tongue from your skull,” she continued, plucking a small dagger from her boot and tapping it against his chin. “Mutes are always preferable.  Second, do you underestimate the power of a woman or women united? Let me offer you a piece of advice, don’t. That always seems to be a fatal flaw for men.”

_Crap_. This was getting difficult. He was usually able to barter for passage easily—well, come out the better in a fight...

“Nothing more to say? Good.  Now look at me,” she ordered.

He smirked and refused to push his hair away and meet her gaze.

“Dammit I said look at me!” Fingers curled around his chin and yank it up. Strands of hair fell away from his face, revealing it to the bright sun and her scrutinizing eyes. “Nice eyes. Pleasant face,” she remark, a smirk curling her lips.  “Oh, I could have some fun with you. Astrid!”

“Yes, Capt’n.”

“Bring him to me cabin. Let’s see just how helpful he can be around here.”

_Wait._ He was _not_ going to be some onboard prostitute. As hands grabbed his shoulders to pull him up, he twisted his body and with a quick elbow to the gut took the sword that carelessly dangled from her side.  He stood to his full height and brought the point to the captain’s neck. “No,” he said. “We duel. I win, you allow me safe passage until you make port. You win, well, that won’t happen.”

“I win,” she responded, her voice rolling across the sea. “You go to my cabin.”

“If,” he said as she drew her sword, the metal scraping against the scabbard.

“What did I advise?” she smirked. “Don’t underestimate a woman’s power.” And, with that, she lunged.

 


	28. Spiderman AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by tenebrissagittarius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As desired, no death

He growled as he shoved his former friend off him and clawed his way towards the end of the cog and leapt over the edge. Merida’s bright eyes met his and latched on, trust overflowing the blue orbs. The shrill cackling of his former friend followed him as he dove down.

He wasn’t moving fast enough. He wasn’t going to reach her before she hit the ground and her head—No. That wasn’t going to happen. He made a promise to her father. And to himself.

Growling with determination, he twisted onto his side. He shot a stream of web down to her. It seemed to take forever as he sped through the glass and metal debris at an achingly slow pace. He risked a quick glance away from her downward spiraling form to shoot another web up to the gears.

The young man jerked to a stop as he dangled and waited for the web to—A smile creased his mouth as it latched around her stomach, clasping her tightly. Her fiery curls bounced around her face as she swung precariously above the floor. Her blue eyes met his, and she smiled. Relief filled his heart. She was safe. It was fine. Nothing was—

A black blur cut across his vision and his web.  An animalistic howl tore from his lips as he watched her hair swell around her face as she plummet down again; the floor eagerly reached up to kiss her head. He glared after the speeding away figure cloaked in shadows; his adrenaline pushing him to tear his former friend’s throat out.

 A panicked scream snagged his attention. “Jack!”

“Merida!” he cried out as his eyes turned back to the plunging form. He released his web and stretched his arms above his head as he dove down. He shot out another web. It latched onto her. With a quick movement, he pulled her weight up to him and pushed his arms against his sides to speed up his movement. Their bodies collided into each other. Her arms latched around his shoulders as he twisted onto his back and shot a web out.

It snagged one of the support beams, and they jolted to a stop. Merida buried her face into his neck and let out a strangled whimper. Slowly, Jack lowered them to the ground. With their feet firmly planted beneath them, Jack ripped off his mask and brought Merida’s lips to his.  Her fingers tangled in his hair as he held her closer. He choked back a sob as he broke away and tucked her head under her chin. “I was so scared.”

“I wasn’t. I trusted you.”

He took in a shaky breath as he pressed her firmly to him, feeling her warmth, feeling her breathe, feeling her alive.


	29. Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: zephyr-lynx

"Shit, where's the princess?" he demanded, grabbing the collar of the man's uniform and thrusting him up against the wall.

"I don't know," he choked out.

"Merida?" he heard behind him. He turned to face Aster.

"Yeah, do you know where she is?"

"She left on the scouting mission," he replied with ease as he polished a piece of a fighter jet. "They returned not too long ago."

"And she's not there!" he growled, tossing the man he still held onto away and turning on his friend.

"What?"

"You heard me," he grounded out. "She's not there. She hasn't returned yet."

"Crikey. You sure? They're closing the about ready to close the door. Night's soon, and there's one hell of a blizzard brewing."

The pale young man blanched; his skin whiter than his hair. "Damn," he hissed as he ran back to the stables.

"Jack!" Aster called after him.

"Has anyone seen the princess?" he shouted as he ran.

All he got in replies were answers in the negative. A young woman grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"What?"

She flinched at his words. "Merida went off on her own. She spotted something and wanted to get a closer look. I lost communication with her. When we were called back, I assumed she got the message, too, so I didn't think - to - to - " Her words were cut off by the sobs that were pushing through her lips.

He rubbed her arms. "It's okay. It's not your fault."

"B-but, I left h-her behind," the petite brunette choked out.

"Do you remember the coordinates of the last place you saw her?"

She nodded and managed to get them out.

"Thank you." He dashed away. Skidding to a halt in front of his tauntaun's stall, he snatched his jacket and zipped it up. After saddling up the creature, he hopped on. He nestled the goggles around his eyes and shoved his fingers into his gloves. Digging his heels into its sides, he steered the animal out of the stall and towards the closing door.

"Hold that open!" he shouted over the wind whistling through the shrinking crack.

"Can't keep door open! You go out there; you're on your own!" called the burly man pushing it shut. What was is name? South...It didn't matter.

"I know!"

"You'll die!"

"Do you have such little faith in me?"

"Yes." He answered without missing a beat, but he pulled the door open anyways.

He smirked. He urged his tauntaun forward into the brewing storm. The door clanged shut behind him. Metal scraped against metal as it was locked, and he was left to is own devises on the unforgiving surface of Hoth at night. Icy wind bombarded his skin as he pushed forward through the white expanse towards the spot the brunette had told him about.

He shouldn't have been devastated when he couldn't see anything once he got there. Granted, the raging storm hardly allowed him to see past his tauntaun's head.

"C'mon!" he urged it.

It grunted sullenly before trudging through the deepening snow. The creature jerked under him. Jack felt its muscles spasm under him before it toppled forward into the snow.

"Great. Just great!" He complained out-loud to no one in particular.

His breath came out in ragged huffs as he crawled through the snow out from underneath the dead animal. Jack pushed himself to his knees and scanned the area. White. Nothing. White. Nothing. Wow, the novelty. Nothing. Whi - Black.

Wait.

The young man jumped to his feet and pushed forward through the snow towards the discoloration. He fell more than once, but he just spat out the snow and kept going.

He felt like laughing when he could make out the body and shock of orange curls tugged out from under the hood. Then it hit him that she was in the snow. Not moving. And he didn't know for how long she'd been there.

Panic and exertion shortened his breath as he struggled to her. He collapsed at her side. Taking several shaky breaths, he pushed himself to his knees and clutched her shoulders. He rolled her onto his lap, gathering her limp form and holding it close.

"Merida! Merida!" he cried. He shook her.

Blue eyes fluttered open.

"Ja..."

"Hey, there you are," he smiled. "Stay with me now, huh? Can you do that? Just stay with me," he begged her, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. He looped an arm under her knees and carefully stood. He turned and looked around. Someone had to be watching him because his footprints had yet to be fully cleared away. He had the right direction.

"Let's find a way to warm you," he whispered as he hugged her closer.

"Worried about me, Jack?" she teased, her voice quiet and breathy. He could barely hear it over the wind.

"No. I was just thinking that if you go and die on me, I can't cash in on that reward."


	30. School Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Anonymous

"C'mon, Merida! You have to dance." The petite brunette pouted; she snatched her friends armed and tugged on it.

"I don't want to," she explained, peeling the fingers from her arm.

"But, it's senior prom!"

"And I came alone. I fully expected this. Now, stop clinging to me and cling to your boyfriend. He looks lonely. Once somethin' more lively comes on, I'll gladly join you."

"But - "

"Hey, Blondie. I don't think you're going to convince him. C'mon." Flynn stepped up and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Rapunzel sighed and allowed herself to be led to the dance floor.

"Thank you," Merida mouthed.

The college student smiled and gave a small nod before turning to focus on the young woman in his arms. He nestled her tightly to his chest and swayed in time to the drudging beat of the ballad.

Sighing, the exchange student fiddled with the fiery curl that hung in the middle of her forehead. She sat down in one of the cold aluminum chairs that lined the gym. She sighed in relief. The cold felt wonderful. Her feet cried out glorious "Hallelujah"s at not having to work. Merida bent forward and undid the strap of her heels and slipped them off. She wriggled her toes, basking in the luxurious freedom. She would have preferred wearing sneakers, but after her mother (and Rapunzel) found out over their weekly Skype chat, the idea was quickly nipped in the bud.

"Your face is almost as red as your hair."

"Oi."

Her eyes darted up to spy a familiar smirk directed down at her. Jack's hair stuck up in its usual untamable mess; the white locks glowed eerily in dance lights. She wondered what his hair would look like under black-light.

"Pretty freaky. I'm told I could star in the next horror movie. I tend to stay away from it," he said.

"Huh?"

"I guess you didn't realize you said that out loud." He plopped down next to her.

"Ah, no."

"Really, though. Your face is red. Like, really red. You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just hot."

Cold skin pressed against her cheek and forehead. She sighed in relief. The warmed flesh disappeared as Jack flipped his hands and pressed the other, cooler side to her face.

"Better?"

"Mhmm. Thanks."

"No problem," he said as he pulled his hands away and let them hang limply on his lap.

"Why are your hands so cold?"

"Why is your face so hot?"

They both paused at that.

One of his hands made its way to the back of his neck; he rubbed the muscles. "Ah. No. Sorry. Didn't mean it like that - I - uh - I was just..."

"Oi, stop rambling. I got it already."

"Good. 'Cause I didn't mean that you're hot like - like  _that._ Just that you're warm, hot."

"I said I got it already, Jack."

His lips pinched shut.

"So...why aren't you up and dancing?" she asked, trying to get his characteristic smirk back. Anything else didn't suit him.

"Simple, brutal answer?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't come with anyone. Didn't ask anyone. No one went out of their way to ask me. You?"

"Same. Plus, eh...not really my thing. Well, somethin' more lively perhaps. But, not this." She gestured to the entwined couples pressed against each other, music forgotten for the other.

The smirk returned as he turned to her, his arm draping the back of her chair. "We don't need the music to be upbeat to dance."

"What are you suggesting?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow.

He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. He dragged her out to the middle of the floor, ignoring her complaints about leaving her shoes behind.

Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her to face him and said, "Think of your favorite song."

"What - "

"Think of it!"

"Okay, okay! I got it."

"Now dance!"

"But - but, it's not playing. It would look weird."

"So? Dance anyway!" Jack shouted. He snatched her hands and began to alternate between pulling one towards him and then the other.

Slowly, she loosened up. Merida laughed as she let him twist her body to a rhythm shared between only the two of them in the sea of couples.


End file.
